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13. 

15- 

16. 

17- 

18. 
19. 

so. 
■t. 
ta. 

33. 

»5- 


LOVE  AND  SHAWL-STRAPS. 
By  Annette  Lucille  Noble. 

MISS  HURD:  AN  ENIGMA. 
By  Anna  Katharine  Green. 

HOW  THANKFUL  WAS  BE- 
WITCHED. By  Jas.  K.  Hoa- 
mer. 

A  WOMAN  OF  IMPULSE.  By 
Justin  Huntley  McCarthy. 

THE  COUNTESS  BETTINA. 
By  Clinton  Ross. 

HER  MAJESTY.  By  Eliiabeth 
Knight  Tompkins. 

GOD  FORSAKEN.  By  Frederic 
Breton. 

AN  ISLAND  PRINCESS.  By 
Theodore  Gift. 

ELIZABETH'S  PRETENDERS. 
By  Hamilton  Aidi. 

AT  TUXTER'S.  By  G.  B.  Bur- 
gin. 

CHERRYFIELD  HALL.  By  F. 
H.  Balfour. 

THE  CRIME  OF  THE  CEN- 
TURY.    By  R.  Ottolengui. 

THE  THINGS  THAT  MATTER. 
By  Francis  Gribble. 

THE  HEART  OF  LIFE.  By 
W.  H.  Mallock. 

THE  BROKEN  RING.  By  Eliza- 
beth Knight  Tompkins. 

THE  STRANGE  SCHEMES  OP 
RANDOLPH  MASON.  By 
Melville  D.  Post. 

THAT  AFFAIR  NEXT  DOOR. 
By  Anna  Katharine  Green. 

IN  THE  CRUCIBLE.  By  Grace 
Denio  Litchfield. 

EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA.  By 
Maurus  I6kai. 

AN  UNCROWNED  KING.  By 
S.  C.  Grier. 

THE  PROFESSOR'S  DILEM- 
MA.  By  Annette  Lucille  Noble. 

THE  WAYS  OF  LIFE.  By 
Mra.  Olipbant. 

THE  MAN  OF  THE  FAMILY. 
By  Christian  Reid. 

MARGOT.    By  Sidney  Pickering. 
THE     FALL    OF    THE    SPAR. 
ROW.     By  M.  C.  Balfour. 


ELEMENTARY    JANE.     By 
Richard  Pryce. 

THE  MAN  OF  LAST  RESORT. 
By  Melville  D.  Post. 

STEPHEN  WHAPSHARE.     By 
Emma  Brooke. 

LOST  MAN'S  LANE.     By  Anna 
Katharine  Green. 


WHEAT    IN    THE     EAR. 
Alien. 


By 
By 


AS    HAVING    NOTHING. 
Hester  Caldvi^ell  Oakley. 

THE  CHASE  OF  AN  HEIRESS. 
By  Christian  Reid. 

FINAL  PROOF.  By  Rodrigues 
Ottolengui. 

THE  WHEEL  OF  GOD.  By 
George  Egerton. 

JOHN  MARMADUKE.  By  S. 
H.  Church. 

HANNAH  THURSTON.  By 
Bayard  Taylor. 

YALE  YARNS.     By  J.  S.  Wood. 

THE  UNTOLD  HALF.  By 
Alien. 

ROSALBA.      By   Olive    P.    Ray- 

ner  (Grant  Allen). 

DR.  BERKELEY'S  DISCOV- 
ERY. By  R.  Slee  and  C.  A. 
Pratt. 

ABOARD  "THE  AMERICAN 
DUCHESS."    By  Headon  Hill. 

THE  PRIEST'S  MARRIAGE. 
By  Nora  Vynne. 

THE  THINGS  THAT  COUNT. 
By  Elizabeth  Knight  Tompkins. 

THE  LEAVENWORTH  CASE. 
By  Anna  Katharine  Green. 

THE  SECRET  OF  THE  CRA- 
TER.   By  Dufiield  Osborne. 

LONE  PINE.  By  R.  B.  Town- 
shend. 

MARKED  "PERSONAL."  By 
Anna  Katharine  Green. 

IN  THE  MIDST  OF  LIFE.  By 
Ambrose  Bierce. 

THE  DUPES.  By  E.  W.  Mum- 
ford. 

HAND  AND  RING.  By  Anna 
Katharine  Green. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  Nbw  York  and  U)ndon 


EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

A  NOVEL 


By    MAURUS   JOKAI 

TRANSLATED    FROM    THE   HUNGARIAN 
BY 

R.   NISBET  BAIN 


NEW    YORK 

G.    P.    PUTNAM'S   SONS 

27  AND  29  West  230  St 

190 1 


stack 
Annex 


CONTENTS 


Pbefaci      ...........iz 

CHAPTER  I. 
Sea-Etes— MoMSiEUB  Oalifabd — The  First  Needle-Prick        1 

CHAPTER  IL 

My  First  Distinction— My  First  Grievance — The  Damen- 
WALZER — The  Frightful  Monster — The  Readjusted 
Scarf — The  Second  Needle-Prick  ....       7 

CHAPTER  HL 
My  Masterpiece  and  My  Hut       ..•••.      24 

CHAPTER  rV. 

PbtSfi  with  us — Plans  fob  the  Future— The  Rape  of 

the  Brides — Amateur  Theatricals — My  Menshikov   .      40 

CHAPTER  V. 
Olympian  Strivings  .....••       t       •     64 

CHAPTER  VI. 

An  Odd  Duel — The  Fateful  Letter  J.  —I  also  become  a 

Peter  Gyuricza •        .      60 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Weltschmerz  Conditions — "Remain  or  Fly!"     ...      74 

T 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB  VIIL 

Peteb  Gturicza's  Gonsoht      .       ..••••      80 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Thb  Woman  who  wbmt  alomo  with  Mb        •        •       •       •    117 

CHAPTER  X. 
Whsbb  thb  World  is  Wallkd  Up       •       •       •       •       •    1S2 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Valentine  BALviMYOSsi  and  TiHAiiiB  RBNasTEai        •       •    140 

CHAJPTEB  XIL 
Thb  MbBTING  at  THE  Paoan  Altab        •        •        a        •        •    151 

CHAPTEB  XIIL 
What  Happbneo  aftbb  That  .••••••    190 

CHAPTEB  XIV. 
Ths  Devon's  Bait •       •       •       •    247 

CHAPTEB  XV. 
Mabtbls  not  to  bb  seen  fob  Moi»t      •       •       •       •       •    266 

CHAPTEB  XVL 
SoLDixBur« •      •       •   297 

CHAPTEB  XVn. 
TKXPTATioa        • c       •   809 

CHAPTEB  XVni, 
A  Cold  Douchb! •       «       ,       .    821 


CONTENTS  vil 

MSB 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
EsAiAS  Medv^si •       ■       •      •    857 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Confession  .       • t       •       t       «    879 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Maria  Nostba •        •    894 


PEEFACB 

rpHE  pessimistic  tone  of  Continental  fiction,  and 
-*-  its  pronouned  preference  for  minute  and  mor- 
bid analysis,  are  quite  revolutionizing  the  modern 
novel.  Fiction  is  ceasing  to  be  a  brancb  of  art,  and 
fast  becoming,  instead,  a  branch  of  science.  The 
aim  of  the  novelist,  apparently,  is  to  lecture  instead 
of  to  amuse  his  readers.  Plot,  incident,  and  descrip- 
tion are  being  sacrificed  more  and  more  to  the  dis- 
section of  peculiar  and  abnormal  types  of  character, 
and  the  story  is  too  often  lost  in  physiological  details 
or  psychological  studies.  The  wave  of  Naturalism, 
as  it  is  called  (though  nothing  could  really  be  more 
unnatural),  has  spread  from  France  aU  over  Europe. 
The  Spanish  and  Italian  novels  are  but  pale  reflec- 
tions of  the  French  novel.  The  German  Naturalists 
have  all  the  qualities  of  the  French  School,  minus 
its  grace.  In  Holland,  the  so-called  Sensitivists  are 
at  great  pains  to  combine  a  coarse  materialism  with 
a  sickly  sentimentality.  Much  more  original,  but 
equally  depressing,  is  the  new  school  of  Scandinavian 
novelists  represented  by  such  names  as  Garborg, 
Strindberg,  Jacobsen,  Loffler,  Hamsun,  and  Bjornson 
(at  least  in  his  later  works),  all  of  whom  are  more  or 
less  under  the  influence  of  Ibsenism,  which  may  be 
roughly  defined  as  a  radical  revolt  against    coii- 


X  PREFACE 

ventionality.  In  point  of  thoroughness  some  of 
these  Northern  worthies  are  not  a  whit  behind  their 
fellow  craftsmen  in  France.  The  novel  of  the  year 
in  Norway  for  1891  was  a  loathsomely  circum- 
stantial account  of  slow  starvation.  There  is  a  lady 
novelist  in  the  same  country  who  could  give  points 
to  Zola  himself ;  and  nearly  every  work  of  Strind- 
berg's  has  scandalized  a  large  portion  of  the  public 
in  Sweden.  Nay,  even  remote  Finland  has  been 
re«ujhed  at  last  by  the  wave  of  Naturalism  in  fiction, 
and  Respectability  there  is  still  in  tears  at  the  per- 
version of  the  most  gifted  of  Finnish  novelists, 
Juhani  Aho.  In  the  Slavonic  countries  also  the 
pessimistic,  analytical  novel  is  paramount,  though 
considerably  chastened  by  Slavonic  mysticism,  and 
modified  by  peculiar  political  and  social  conditions. 
Though  much  nobler  in  sentiment,  the  novel  in 
Poland,  Bossia,  and  Bohemia  is  quite  as  melancholy 
in  character  as  the  general  run  of  fiction  elsewhere. 
A  minor  key  predominates  them  all.  There  is  no 
room  for  humour  in  the  mental  vivisection  which 
now  passes  for  BeHes-lettres.  We  may  learn  some- 
thing, no  doubt,  from  these  fin  de  silcle  novelists, 
but  to  get  a  single  healthy  laugh  out  of  any  one  of 
them  is  quite  impossible. 

There  is,  however,  one  country  which  is  a  singular 
exception  to  this  general  rule.  In  Hungary  the 
good  old  novel  of  incident  and  adventure  is  stiU 
held  in  high  honour,  and  humour  is  of  the  very 
essence  of  the  national  literature.      This  curious 


PREFACE 


XI 


isolated  phenomenon  is  due,  in  great  measure,  to  the 
immense  influence  of  the  veteran  novelist,  Maurus 
J6kai,  who  may  be  said  to  have  created  the  modem 
Hungarian  novel,^  and  who  has  already  written 
more  romances  than  any  man  can  hope  to  read  in  a 
life-time.  Jokai  is  a  great  poet.  He  possesses  a 
gorgeous  fancy,  an  all-embracing  imagination,  and 
a  constructive  skill  unsurpassed  in  modem  fiction ; 
but  his  most  delightful  quality  is  his  humour,  a 
humour  of  the  cheeriest,  heartiest  sort,  without  a 
single  soupgon  of  ill-nature  about  it,  a  quality  pre- 
cious in  any  age,  and  doubly  so  in  an  overvsrrought, 
supercivilized  age  like  our  own.  Lovers  of  literature 
must  always  regret,  however,  that  the  great  Hun- 
garian romancer  has  been  so  prodigal  of  his  rare 
gifts.  He  has  written  far  too  much,  and  his  works 
vary  immensely.  Between  such  masterpieces,  for 
instance,  as  "  Karpdthy  Zoltdn "  and  "Az  ardny 
ember"  on  the  one  hand,  and  such  pot-boilers  as 
" Nincsen  Ordog"  or  even  " Szerelem  Bolondjai"  on 
the  other,  the  interval  is  truly  abysmal.  But  that 
such  a  difference  is  due  not  to  exhaustion,  but 
simply  to  excessive  exuberance,  is  evident  from  the 
story  which  we  now  present  for  the  first  time  to 
English  readers,  "il  tengerszemii  hblgy  "  is  certainly 
the  most  brilliant  of  Jokai's  later,  and  perhaps '  the 

*  I  do  not  forget  Kdrmdn,  Jdsika,  and  Edtvds,  but  the 
former  was  an  imitator  of  Bichardson,  and  the  two  latter 
of  Walter  Scott. 

•  I  say  "  perhaps,"  as  I  can  only  claim  to  have  read  twenty- 
five  out  of  Jokai's  one  hundred  and  fifty  novels. 


xfi  Preface 

most  humorous  of  all  his  works.  It  was  justly 
crowned  by  the  Hungarian  Academy  as  the  best 
Magyar  novel  of  the  year  1890,  and  well  sustains 
the  long-established  reputation  of  the  master.  Apart 
from  the  intensely  dramatic  incidents  of  the  story, 
and  the  originality  and  vividness  of  the  characteriza- 
tion, "^  tengerszemii  holgy  "  is  especially  interesting 
as  being,  to  a  very  great  extent,  autobiographical 
It  is  not  indeed  a  professed  record  of  the  author's 
life-like  ''EmUkeim"  (My  Memoirs)  for  instance.  It 
professes  to  be  a  novel,  and  a  most  startling  novel 
it  is.  Yet  in  none  of  Jokai's  other  novels  does  he 
tell  us  so  much  about  himself,  his  home,  and  his 
early  struggles  both  as  an  author  and  a  patriot ;  he 
is  one  of  the  chief  characters  in  his  own  romance. 
Of  the  heroine,  Bessy,  I  was  about  to  say  that  she 
stood  alone  in  fiction,  but  there  is  a  certain  super- 
ficial resemblance,  purely  accidental  of  course, 
between  her  and  that  other  delightful  and  original 
rogue  of  romance,  Mrs.  Desborough,  in  Mr.  Robert 
Louis  Stevenson's  "More  New  Arabian  Nights," 
though  all  who  have  had  the  privilege  of  making 
the  acquaintance  of  both  ladies  will  feel  bound  to 
admit  that  J6kai's  Bessy,  with  her  five  husbands, 
is  even  more  piquant,  stimulating,  and  fascinating 
than  Mr.  Stevenson's  charming  and  elusive  heroine. 

E.  NISBET  BAIN. 


EYES    LIKE   THE   SEA 


EYES    LIKE   THE    SEA 


CHAPTER  I 

SEA-EYES— MONSIEUR   GALIFARD — THE     FIRST    NEEDLE- 

PEICK 

"'VT  EVER  in  my  life  have  I  seen  sucli  wonderful 
-^^  eyes  !  One  might  construct  a  whole  astronomy 
out  of  them.  Every  changeful  mood  was  there 
reflected  ;  so  I  have  called  them  "  Eyes  like  the 
Sea." 

4*  V  ♦  ♦ 

When  first  1  met  pretty  Bessy,  we  were  both 
children.  She  was  twelve  years  old,  I  was  a 
hobbledehoy  of  sixteen.  We  were  learning  dancing 
together.  A  Frenchman  had  taken  up  his  quarters 
in  our  town,  an  itinerant  dancing-master,  who  set 
the  whole  place  in  a  whirl.  His  name  was  Monsieur 
Galifard.  He  had  an  extraordinarily  large  head, 
a  bronzed  complexion,  eyebrows  running  into  each 
other,  and  short  legs  ;  and  on  the  very  tip  of  his 
large  aquiline  nose  was  a  big  wart.  Yet,  for  all 
that,  he  was  really  charming.     Whenever  he  danced 

^  B 


2  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

or  spoke,  he  instantly  became  irresistible.  All  our 
womankind  came  thither  on  his  account;  all  of 
them  I  say,  from  nine  years  old  and  upwards  to 
an  age  that  was  quite  incalculable,  I  recall  the 
worthy  man  with  the  liveliest  gratitude.  I  have 
to  thank  him  for  the  waltz  and  the  quadrille,  as 
well  as  for  the  art  of  picking  up  a  fallen  fan 
without  turning  my  back  upon  the  lady. 

Bessy  was  the  master's  greatest  trouble.  She 
would  never  keep  time ;  she  would  never  take  to 
the  elegant  "^Zi,"  ^^^  ^®  could  never  wean  her 
from  her  wild  and  frolicsome  ways.  Woe  to  the 
dancer  who  became  her  partner  ! 

I,  however,  considered  all  this  perfectly  natural. 
When  any  one  is  lovely,  rich,  and  well-bom,  she 
has  the  right  to  be  regarded  as  the  exception  to 
every  rule.  That  she  was  lovely  you  could  tell  at 
the  very  first  glance ;  that  she  was  rich  anybody 
could  tell  from  the  silver  coach  in  which  she  rode ; 
and  by  combining  the  fact  that  every  one  called 
her  mother  "Your  Ladyship"  with  the  fact  that 
even  the  "  country  people "  kissed  her  hand,  yon 
easily  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  she  must  be 
well-bom.  Her  lady-mother  and  her  companion,  a 
gentlewoman  of  a  certain  age,  were  present  at  every 
dancing  lesson,  as  also  was  the  girl's  aunt,  a  major's 
widow  in  receipt  of  a  pension.  Thus  Bessy  was 
under  a  threefold  inspection,  the  natural  conse- 
quence of  which  was  that  she  could  do  just  as  she 
liked,  for  every  one  of    her  guardians    privately 


MONSIEUR  GALIFARD  3 

argued,  "  Why  should  I  take  the  trouble  of  looking 
after  this  little  girl  when  the  other  two  are  doing 
the  same  thing?"  and  so  all  three  were  always 
occupied  with  their  own  aflfairs. 

The  mother  was  a  lady  who  loved  to  bask  on 
the  sunny  side  of  life;  her  widowhood  pined  for 
consolation.  She  had  her  officially  recognised 
wooers,  with  more  or  less  serious  intentions,  gradu- 
ated according  to  rank  and  quality. 

The  companion  was  the  scion  of  a  noble  family. 
All  her  brothers  were  officers.  Her  father  was  a 
Chamberlain  at  Court ;  his  own  chamber  was  about 
the  last  place  in  the  world  to  seek  him  in.  The 
young  lady's  toilets  were  of  the  richest;  she  also 
had  the  reputation  of  being  a  beauty,  and  was 
famed  for  her  finished  dancing.  Still,  time  had 
already  called  her  attention  to  the  seriousness  of 
her  surroundings;  for  Bessy,  the  daughter  of  the 
house,  had  begun  to  shoot  up  in  the  most  alarming- 
manner,  and  four  or  five  summers  more  might  make 
a  rival  of  her.  Her  occupation  during  the  dancing 
hour  was  therefore  of  such  a  nature  as  to  draw  her 
somewhat  aside  lest  people  should  observe  with 
whom  and  in  what  manner  she  was  diverting  her- 
self, for  there  is  many  an  evil  feminine  eye  that 
can  read  all  sorts  of  things  in  a  mere  exchange  of 
glances  or  a  squeeze  of  the  hand,  and  then,  of 
course,  such  things  are  always  talked  to  death. 

But  it  was  the  aunt  most  of  all  who  sought  for 
pretexts  to  vanish  from  the   dancing-room.      She 


4  BYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

wanted  to  taste  every  dish  and  pasty  in  the  buffet 
before  any  one  else,  and  well-grounded  investigators 
said  of  her,  besides,  that  she  was  addicted  to  the 
dark  pleasure  of  taking  snuff,  which  naturally  de- 
manded great  secrecy.  When,  however,  she  was 
in  the  dancing-room,  she  would  sit  down  beside 
some  kindred  gossiper,  and  then  they  both  got  so 
engrossed  in  the  delight  of  running  down  all  their 
acquaintances,  that  they  had  not  a  thought  for  any- 
thing else. 

So  Bessy  could  do  what  she  liked.  She  conld 
dance  csdrdds^  figures  in  the  Damensolo ;  smack 
her  vis-a-vis  on  the  hands  in  the  tour  de  mainSj  and 
tell  anecdotes  in  such  a  loud  voice  that  they  could 
be  heard  all  over  the  room ;  and  when  she  laughed 
she  would  press  both  hands  between  her  knees 
in  open  defiance  of  Monsieur  Galifard's  repeated 
expostulations. 

One  evening  there  was  a  grand  practice  in  the 
dancing-room.  With  the  little  girls  came  big  girls, 
and  with  the  big  girls  big  lads.  Such  lubbers  seem 
to  think  that  they  have  a  covenanted  right  to  cut 
out  little  fellows  like  me.  Luckily,  worthy  Galifard 
was  a  good-natured  fellow,  who  would  not  allow  his 
proteges  to  be  thrust  to  the  wall. 

"Nix    cache-cache    spielen.    Monsieur    Maurice. 

Aliens !     Walzer  geht  an.     Nur  courage.     Ne  cher- 

chez  pas   toujours    das    allerschlekteste    Tanzerin! 

Fangen  sie  Fraiilein  Erzsike  par  la  main,     Yalsez 

^  The  national  dance  of  Hungary 


MONSIEUR  GALIFARD  6 

la  "  ^  And  with  that  he  seized  my  hand,  led  me  up 
to  Bessy,  placed  my  hand  in  hers,  and  then  "  ein, 
zwei." 

Now,  the  waltzes  of  those  days  were  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  waltzes  we  dance  now.  The  waltz 
of  to-day  is  a  mere  joke  ;  but  waltzing  then  was 
a  serious  business.  Both  partners  kept  the  upper 
parts  of  their  bodies  as  far  apart  as  possible,  whilst 
their  feet  were  planted  close  together.  Then  the 
upper  parts  went  moving  off  to  the  same  time,  and 
the  legs  were  obliged  to  slide  as  quickly  as  they 
could  after  the  flying  bodies.  It  was  a  dance  worthy 
of  will-o'-the-wisps. 

The  master  kept  following  us  all  the  time,  and 
never  ceased  his  stimulating  assurances:  "  Tres 
bien,  Monsieur  Maurice !  Qa  va  ausgezeiknet ! 
'  Alten  sie  brav  la  demoiselle  !  Nix  auf  die  Fiisse 
schauen.  Regardez  aux  yeux.  Das  ist  riktig. 
Embrassiren  ist  besser  als  embarrasiren  !  Pouah ! 
Da  liegst  schon  alle  beide  !  "  ^ 

No,  not  quite  so  bad  as  that !  I  had  foreseen  the 
inevitable  tumble,  and  in  order  to  save  my  partner 
I  sacrificed   myself  by   falling   on   my  knees,   she 

*  "Don't  play  hide-and-seek,  Master  Maurice.  Off  you 
go !  '  Tis  a  waltz,  remember.  Come,  come  !  courage.  Don't 
always  pick  out  the  worst  partner.  Take  Miss  Bessy  by  the 
hand.    Waltz  away  ! " 

'  "  Very  good,  Master  Maurice !  That's  capital !  Hold  the 
lady  nicely!  Don't  look  at  your  feet.  Look  at  her  eyes. 
That's  right!  To  embrace  is  better  than  to  embarrass. 
Pooh !     There,  they  both  are  together  !  " 


6  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

scarcely  touched  the  floor  with  the  tip  of  her  finger. 
My  knee  was  not  much  the  worse  for  the  fall,  but  I 
split  my  pantaloons  just  above  the  knee.  I  was 
annihilated.  A  greater  blow  than  that  can  befall 
no  man. 

Bessy  laughed  at  my  desperate  situation,  but  the 
next  moment  she  had  compassion  upon  me. 

"  "Wait  a  bit,"  said  she,  "  and  I'll  sew  it  up  with 
my  darning-needle."  Then  she  fished  up  a  darning- 
needle  firom  one  of  the  many  mysterious  folds  of  her 
dress,  and,  kneeling  down  before  me,  hastily  darned 
up  the  rent  in  my  dove-coloured  pantaloons,  and  in 
her  great  haste  she  pricked  me  to  the  very  quick 
with  the  beneficent  but  dangerous  implement. 

"  I  didn't  prick  you,  did  I  ?  "  she  asked,  looking  at 
me  with  those  large  eyes  of  hers  which  seemed  to 
speak  of  such  goodness  of  heart. 

"  No,"  I  said ;  yet  I  felt  the  prick  of  that  needle 
even  then.  , 

Then  we  went  on  dancing.  I  distinguished  my- 
self marvellously.  With  a  needle-prick  in  my  knee, 
and  another  who  knows  where,  I  whirled  Bessy 
three  times  round  the  room,  so  that  when  I  brought 
her  back  to  the  garde  des  dames,  it  seemed  to  me  as 
if  three-and-thirty  mothers,  aunts,  and  companions 
were  revolving  around  me. 


CHAPTER  n 

MY  FLRST  DISTINCTION — MY  FIBST  GRIEVANCE — THE 
DAMENWALZEK — THE  FRIGHTFUL  MONSTER — THE 
READJUSTED     SCARF — THE     SECOND    NEEDLE-PRICK 

"1"  AM  really  most  grateful  to  Monsieur  Galifard. 
-*-  I  have  to  thank  him  for  the  first  distinction  I 
ever  enjoyed  in  my  life.  This  was  the  never-to-be- 
forgotten  circumstance  that  when  my  colleagues,  the 
young  hopefuls  of  the  Academy  of  Jurisprudence  at 
Kecskemet,  gave  a  lawyers'  ball,  they  unanimously 
chose  me  to  be  the  elotdnczos}  To  this  day  I  am 
proud  of  that  distinction  ;  what  must  I  have  been 
then  ?  On  the  heels  of  this  honour  speedily  came 
a  second.  The  very  same  year,  the  Hungarian 
Academy  of  Sciences,  on  the  occasion  of  the  com- 
petition for  the  Teleki  prize,  honourably  mentioned 
my  tragedy,  "  The  Jew  Boy,"  and  there  were  even 
two  competent  judges,  Vorosmarty  and  Bajza,^  who 
considered  it  worthy  of  the  prize.  .  .  .  When, 
therefore,  I  returned  to  my  native  town,  after  an 

*  The  dancer  who  leads  off  the  ball. 

•  Two  of  the  most  eminent  Hungarian  poets. 


8  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

absence  of  three  years,  I  found  that  a  certain  renom- 
mie  had  preceded  me.  I  had  also  very  good  reasons 
for  returning  home.  The  legal  curriculum  in  my 
time  embraced  four  years.  The  third  year  was 
given  to  the  patveria,  the  fourth  year  to  the  jura- 
teria}  Every  respectable  man  goes  through  the 
patveria  in  his  own  country,  but  the  jurateria  at 
Buda-Pest. 

And  I  had  something  else  to  boast  of,  too.  In  my 
leisure  hours  I  painted  portraits,  miniatures  in  oil. 
So  well  did  I  hit  off  the  Judge  of  Osziny  (and  he  did 
not  give  me  a  sitting  either)  that  every  one  recog- 
nised him  ;  but  a  still  greater  sensation  was  caused 
by  my  portrait  of  the  wife  of  the  Procurator  Fiscal, 
who  passed  for  one  of  the  prettiest  women  in  the 
town. 

And  yet,  despite  all  this,  when  in  the  following 
Shrovetide  the  Lord  Lieutenant  gave  a  ball  to  the 
county  (they  were  something  like  Lord  Lieutenants 
in  those  days),  I  was  not  called  upon  to  open  the 
ball !     Ungrateful  fatherland ! 

And  who  was  it,  pray,  who  caused  me  this  bitter 
slight  ?  A  dandy,  who  did  not  belong  to  our  town 
at  all ;  a  certain  Muki  Bagotay,  of  whom  the  world 
only  knew  that  he  had  been  to  Paris,  and  was  a 
good  match.  In  my  rage  I  had  resolved  not  to 
dance  at  the  Lord  Lieutenant's  ball,  although  I  had 
received  an  invitation.  Moreover,  my  indignation 
was  increased  by  the  circumstance  that  rumour  had 

*  Different  branches  of  Hungarian  law. 


MV  FIRST  DISTINCTION  9 

already  designated  Bessy  as  the  semi-official  partner 
of  the  opener  of  the  ball. 

However,  Nemesis  overtook  the  pair  of  them. 

At  this  ball  Bessy  wore  a  frisure  a  VAnglaise^ 
which  did  not  suit  her  face  at  all ;  and  I  rejoiced 
beforehand  at  the  misadventure  I  clearly  foresaw, 
for  I  was  certain  that  her  flying  dishevelled  hair 
would  catch  in  the  buttons  of  her  partner's  dress- 
coat. 

As  for  Muki  Bagotay  himself,  the  first  time  we 
cast  eyes  upon  him,  my  young  brother  and  I  im- 
mediately agreed  that  it  was  an  absolute  imperti- 
nence to  be  so  handsome.  Only  a  romance-writer 
has  the  right  to  produce  such  perfect  figures  ;  they 
have  no  business  to  exist  in  reality.  I  comforted 
myself  with  the  reflection  that  such  a  handsome 
fellow  must  be  a  blockhead.  I  didn't  know  then 
that  dulness  was  fashionable.  Why,  even  gold  has 
a  dull  ring ! 

But  I  was  a  very  inexperienced  youngster  in 
those  days.  I  had  no  down  on  my  face,  I  did  not 
know  how  to  smoke,  I  would  not  have  drunk  wine 
for  worlds,  and  had  never  even  looked  a  lady  in  the 
face, 

But,  as  I  said  before.  Nemesis  overtook  them. 

The  dance  opened  with  a  waltz.  If  /  had  been 
master  of  the  ceremonies,  I  should  have  started  with 
a  Tcormagyar}    Ah  !  that  Tcormagyar.     That  is  some- 

*  An  old  Hungarian  round  dance. 


10  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

thing  like  a  dance.  It  requires  enthusiasm  to  dance 
tliat^  and  you  want  eight  or  sixteen  couples  to  dance 
it  properly,  and  all  thirty-two  dancers  must  dance  it 
with  histrionic  precision,  and  that  was  not  an  easy 
thing  to  do,  I  can  tell  you.  But,  then,  Bagotay  was 
all  for  waltzes.     The  "  Pecsovics  " ! ' 

But  there's  a  Nemesis  ! 

It  was  the  regular  custom  then  for  the  band  to 
play  ten  or  twelve  bars  of  each  dance  before  it 
began,  and  then  stop  for  a  few  moments  so  that  the 
public  might  know  whether  the  next  dance  was  to 
be  a  polka,  quadrille,  or  waltz.  Muki  Bagotay  did 
not  know  this  (what  did  he  know,  forsooth?),  so 
when  the  band  gave  the  usual  signal,  he  took  his 
partner  on  his  arm  and  started  off  with  her  in  a 
fine  whirl,  till  the  band  suddenly  stopped,  and  they 
found  themselves  high  and  dry  at  the  other  end  of 
the  room  with  no  music  for  their  feet  to  dance  to ; 
so  they  had  to  sneak  back  shamefacedly  to  the 
place  from  whence  they  had  started.  Bessy  was 
furious,  and  Muki  was  full  of  excuses ;  you  would 
have  taken  them  for  a  married  couple  of  six  months' 
standing.     Serve  them  right ! 

I  did  not  watch  them  dance  any  more,  but  sat 
down  in  a  corner  and  sketched  caricatures  on  the 
back  of  my  invitation  card.  Then  I  made  my  way 
to  the  buffet  to  drink  almond-tea,  and  gathered 
round  me  two  or  three  hlasi  young  men,  like  myself 

*  One  who  preferred  foreign  and  especially  Austrian  cus- 
toms to  Hungarian. 


THE  DAMENWALZER  11 

weary  of  existence.  Let  the  gay  company  inside 
there  try  and  amuse  themselves  without  our  assist- 
ance if  they  could ! 

Suddenly  some  one  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder 
with  a  fan,  then  I  recognised  a  voice ;  it  was  Bessy. 
"  What,"  she  said,  "  not  content  with  flying  from 
the  dancing-room  yourself,  must  you  keep  away 
other  dancers  also !  Come  back,  sir !  A  Damen- 
walzer  is  beginning." 

For  the  privilege  of  a  Damenwalzer  I  capitulated 
unconditionally  of  course.  Having  completed  the 
turn  round  the  room  with  my  partner,  I  led  Bessy 
back  to  her  mother,  and  thanked  her  for  the  never- 
to-be-forgotten  distinction.  She  had  to  be  off  again 
almost  immediately,  for  the  voice  of  the  master  of 
the  ceremonies  announced  a  cotillon.  The  couples 
flew  round  with  the  velocity  of  will-o'-the-wisp. 
But  her  mother  remained  where  she  was,  and  there 
was  an  empty  chair  beside  her. 

"  You  are  quite  forgetting  your  old  acquaint- 
ances," said  she,  breathing  heavily  (she  was  stout 
and  suffered  from  asthma).  "You  don't  trouble 
your  head  about  us  now  you  have  become  a  famous 
man." 

A  famous  man !  What !  then  does  she  also  know 
that  the  Academy  of  Sciences  honourably  men- 
tioned my  tragedy  ?  No,  no  !  My  other  fame  it 
was  that  had  reached  her — my  pictorial  successes. 

*'  We  have  seen  the  lovely  portrait  that  you 
painted.     Yes,  it  was  Madame  Mtiller  to  the  life — 


12  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

just  as  she  looked  fifteen  years  ago.  Why  did  you 
not  rather  paint  her  daughter,  she  is  much  prettier? 
But  you  don't  like  painting  girls,  do  you — ^you  are 
afraid  it  is  a  losing  game,  eh  ?  " 

The  lady  had  certainly  very  peculiar  expressions. 

Of  course  I  could  only  reply  that  I  was  not  a  bit 
afraid,  and  that  if  they  would  let  me,  I  should  have 
the  greatest  pleasure  in  painting  Miss  Bessy. 

She  was  gracious  enough  to  give  her  consent. 
The  only  thing  was  to  fix  when  it  should  be.  It 
could  not  be  at  once,  as  for  some  days  after  a  ball 
young  ladies  do  not  look  their  best.  Then  they 
had  to  get  ready  fi^r  another  dancing  party,  or  were 
busy,  and  on  Sundays  they  went  to  church.  At 
last,  however,  after  much  calculation,  a  day  was 
hunted  up  on  which  Bessy  was  free  to  sit  to  me. 

Then  there  was  another  question  for  considera- 
tion :  was  the  portrait  to  be  painted  on  ivory  with 
water-colours,  or  on  linen  with  oils  ?  "  Ivory  is 
better,"  I  insinuated,  "because  one  can  always  wipe 
off  a  portrait  in  water-colours  with  a  wet  sponge 
whenever  one  likes." 

The  lady  remarked  the  self-reproach,  and  was 
gracious  enough  to  neutralize  it  by  a  contradiction. 

"  Then  I  declare  for  oils,  for  we  wish  to  keep  the 
picture  for  ever." 

I  felt  that  I  could  have  done  anything  for  her. 

Meanwhile  the  cotillon  had  come  to  an  end. 
Bessy  returned  to  her  mother,  and  the  companion 
also  resumed  her  place.     The  chair  which  I  had 


THE  FRIGHTFUL  MONSTER  13 

appropriated  belonged  to  her,  and  resigning  it  to  its 
lawful  possessor,  I  would  have  withrawn,  but  the 
lady  considered  it  her  duty  to  present  me  to  the 
ruling  planet  of  the  day,  Muki  Bagotay,  who  was 
escorting  back  his  partner.  She  immediately  ac- 
quainted him  with  my  artistic  qualifications,  and 
made  it  generally  known  that  I  was  going  in  a  few 
days  to  paint  her  daughter's  portrait. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  appointed  I  appeared 
at  Bessy's  house.  I  had  sent  on  beforehand  my 
easel  and  my  canvas  by  our  servant.  I  found  not  a 
single  soul  of  a  lackey  either  in  the  passage  or  the 
ante-chamber.  I  was  obliged  to  stand  there  and 
wait  till  some  one  came  to  announce  me,  and  in  the 
meantime  I  could  not  help  overhearing  the  conver- 
sation in  the  adjoining  room. 

"  You  are  a  good-for-nothing  rascal  yourself — a 
shameful,  impertinent  fellow !  " 

I  recognised  the  voice  of  the  mistress  of  the 
house. 

In  reply  came  a  protesting  shriek. 

"  Where  is  there  a  stick  ?  "  cried  the  lady. 

And  at  the  same  instant  a  hoarse  voice  replied : 
"  Madame,  vous  etes  une  friponne !  " 

A  pretty  conversation  truly.  I  had  certainly 
arrived  at  the  wrong  time. 

Meanwhile  the  door  opened,  and  the  flunkey  came 
in  rubbing  one  of  his  hands  with  the  other ;  he  was 
evidently  in  pain. 

"  Have  you  been  beaten  ?  "  cried  I,  in  amazement; 


14  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

to  which  he  angrily  replied :  "  No !  I  have  been 
bitten:' 

What,  actually  bitten  the  footman ! 

"  Would  you  kindly  walk  in,  sir ;  they  are  wait- 
ing for  you." 

The  moment  I  entered  the  room  this  enigmatical 
state  of  things  was  immediately  plain  to  me.  The 
personage  to  whom  her  ladyship  was  meting  out 
these  offensive  epithets,  and  who  was  returning  her 
such  contemptuous  replies,  was  a  grey  parrot  who 
had  just  bitten  the  lackey  in  the  finger  and  been 
chastised  for  this  misdeed.  The  whole  company 
was  in  the  utmost  excitement.  There  was  a  large 
assembly  both  of  ladies  and  gentlemen;  amongst 
the  latter  my  eye  immediately  caught  sight  of  Muki 
Bagotay.  But  the  chief  personage  was  the  parrot. 
He  was  a  grey-liveried,  red-tailed,  big-billed  mon- 
ster, and  he  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  tea-table  in 
a  threatening  attitude.  Somehow  or  other  he  had 
contrived  to  open  the  door  of  his  bronze  cage,  and 
in  a  twinkling  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  tea- 
things  on  the  covered  table.  "  Oh,  I  only  hope  he 
won't  get  on  my  head  !  "  cried  a  somewhat  elderly 
lady,  holding  on  to  her  chignon  with  both  hands. 
Nobody  dared  to  assume  the  offensive.  The  foot- 
man who  had  attempted  to  seize  the  fugitive  had 
already  been  laid  Tiors  de  combat  by  the  winged 
rebel,  while  the  parlour-maid  declared  that  she 
would  not  go  near  him  if  they  gave  her  the  whole 
house.      The  lady  of   the  house   meanwhile    was 


THE  FRIGHTFUL  MONSTER  15 

making  little  dabs  at  the  bird  with  a  small  Spanish 
cane,  and  calling  it  all  sorts  of  abusive  names  ;  but 
the  warlike  pet  always  grasped  the  end  of  the  cane 
with  its  strong  beak,  while  he  repaid  with  interest 
the  injurious  epithets  bestowed  upon  him. 

When  I  joined  the  company  I  was  scarcely  noticed 
and  the  lady  of  the  house,  in  reply  to  my  salutation, 
"I  kiss  your  hand,"  said,  "You  infamous  scoun- 
drel ! "  though  she  immediately  added,  "  I  did  not 
mean  you." — "You're  one  yourself,"  retorted  the 
bird. 

"  Come  now,  find  a  rhyme  to  that,  Mr.  Rhymster! " 
said  Mr.  Muki  Bagotay.  The  wretch  was  apostro- 
phizing me. — Rhymster,  indeed ! 

"  Don't  go  near  it !  "  cried  Bessy  ;  *'he  might  bite 
your  hand,  and  then  you  would  not  be  able  to  paint 
me." 

They'd  terrify  me,  eh  ?  It  only  needed  that.  I 
instantly  went  straight  for  the  bird.  I  would  have 
done  so  had  it  been  the  double-headed  Russian 
eagle  itself.  Was  it  divination  which  made  me  hit 
upon  the  proper  word  to  say  to  such  a  human- voiced 
monster  ?  "  Give  me  your  head  !  "  said  I.  And  at 
that  word  the  terrible  wretch  bobbed  down  his  head 
till  he  was  actually  standing  on  his  curved  beak, 
while  I  scratched  his  head  with  my  index  finger, 
which  gratified  him  so  much  that  he  began  to  flutter 
his  wings. 

Then  I  hazarded  a  second  command, 

**  Give  me  your  foot ! " 


16  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

And  then,  to  the  general  amazement,  the  parrot 
raised  its  formidable  three-pronged  foot  and  clasped 
me  tightly  round  the  index  finger  with  its  claws ; 
then  it  seized  my  thumb  with  its  other  foot,  and 
allowed  me  to  lift  it  from  the  table.  Nor  was  that 
all.  While  I  held  it  on  my  hand,  just  as  the  me- 
diaeval huntsmen  held  their  falcons,  the  parrot  bent 
its  head  over  my  hand  and  began  to  distribute  kisses ; 
but  finally  he  went  through  every  variation  of  the 
kiss  till  it  was  a  perfect  scandal.  The  ladies 
laughed.     "  Who  ever  could  have  taught  him  ?  " 

"  I  got  the  bird  during  the  lifetime  of  my  late 
lamented  husband,"  explained  the  lady  of  the  house, 
with  some  confusion. 

Finally,  the  conquered  sphinx  affectionately  con- 
fided to  me  his  name :  "  Little  Koko !  Darling 
Koko !  "  But  I  transferred  Koko  from  my  fist  to 
his  cage,  and  put  him  on  to  the  swinging  ring, 
which  he  seized,  and  began  to  climb  upwards  with 
his  beak.  He  was  a  veritable  triped !  On  settling 
comfortably  in  his  ring,  he  made  me  a  low  bow,  and 
cried  with  a  naive  inflexion  of  voice — "  Your  humble 
servant ! " 

"  Positively  marvellous ! "  gasped  the  lady- 
mother  ;  you  ought  really  to  be  a  tamer  of 
animals !  " 

"  I  mean  to  be." 

"  Indeed !  And  what  sort  of  beasts  will  you 
tame  ?  " 

"  Men ! " 


THE  READJUSTED  SCARF  17 

Noi  one  of  them  understood  me. 

"Well,  Mr.  Poet,"  joked  Muki  Bagotay,  "the 
ballad  -was  a  success ;  now  let  us  see  whether  the 
picture  also  will  be  superlative." 

"  How  do  you  want  to  see  it  ?  " 

"  So  !  "  and  with  that  he  stuck  his  eye-glass  into 
the  corner  of  his  nose. 

"  Then  you're  just  mistaken  !  "  said  I,  "  for  when 
I  paint  a  portrait  nobody  is  allowed  in  the  room 
except  myself  and  the  sitter." 

The  whole  company  was  amazed.  Every  one 
fancied  that  it  would  have  been  a  public  exhibition, 
and  so  they  had  all  congregated  together  to  see  how 
a  person's  eye,  mouth  and  ear  came  out.  A  large 
round  table  had  been  prepared  for  me,  in  order  that 
a  whole  lot  of  them  might  sit  around  it  with  their 
hands  on  their  elbows,  and  give  me  general  direc- 
tions as  I  went  along :  That  eye  a  bit  higher  !  that 
ringlet  a  little  lower !  A  little  more  red  here,  and 
a  little  more  white  there !  However,  I  declared 
plainly  that  I  would  not  paint  before  a  crowd;  it 
was  the  rule  in  painting,  I  said.  "When  portraits 
were  being  painted,  nobody  must  be  in  the  atelier 
but  the  painter  and  his  model.  Barabas,^  too,  al- 
ways made  that  a  rule. 

My  resolution  produced  an  imposing  eflfect  on  the 
company.  It's  a  very  nice  thing  when  a  man  can 
do  something  which  nobody  else  can !     They  had  to 

*  Michael  Barabas,  a  famous  Hungarian  painter,  born  at 
Markosfalu  in  1810. 


18  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

agree  that  Bessy  and  I  should  sit  alone  in  a  little 
side  room,  which  had  only  one  window,  and  the 
lower  part  of  even  this  window  had  to  be  covered 
by  a  Spanish  screen  so  as  to  get  a  proper  light. 
And  nobody  was  to  disturb  us  so  long  as  the  sitting 
lasted. 

The  first  sitting  did  not  last  long.  In  oil  paint- 
ing, the  image  should  first  of  all  be  painted  under, 
that  is  to  say,  with  dull  neutral  colours.  In  those 
days  I  had  never  heard  of  such  a  thing  as  a  first 
coating ;  while  it  is  in  this  stage  the  picture  is  not 
fit  to  be  looked  at.  It  is  absolutely  hideous,  and 
the  better  the  likeness,  the  worse  it  looks.  I 
allowed  nobody  to  look  at  it,  not  even  Bessy.  I 
locked  up  the  first  essay  in  my  painter's  knapsack ; 
it  was  a  miniature.  At  this  stage  it  was  quite  suffi- 
cient if  the  insetting  had  succeeded,  with  the  figure 
in  profile,  but  the  countenance  quite  en  face ;  the 
shadows  piled  up,  but  the  background  merely 
thrown  out  tentatively,  and  the  fundamental 
colours  of  the  dress  just  insinuated.  Every  one 
will  see  that  this  last  part  is  the  hardest  of  alL 

The  company  was  very  much  deceived  in  its  ex- 
pectations when  it  was  informed  that  I  had  nothing 
to  show  it.  Every  one  had  expected  that  in  an 
hour  and  a  half  I  should  have  finished  the  eye  or 
the  mouth  at  any  rate ;  they  now  thought  to  them- 
selves that  nothing  at  all  would  come  of  it. 

"  Well,  but  will  Bessy  look  pretty  in  this  dress  ?  " 
asked  her  mother. 


THE  READJUSTED  SCARF  19 

What  could  I  do  at  such,  a  question  as  this  but 
look  silly  ?  As  if  I  knew  whether  Bessy  had  had 
a  pretty  dress  on  or  not !  All  I  knew  was  that  I 
had  had  to  use  for  it  a  little  "  English  lake,"  some 
"Neapolitan  yellow,"  "  Venetian  white,"  and  just  a 
scrinch  of  "  burnt  ochre." 

"I  can  teU  you  that  it  was  a  very  tiresome 
amusement,"  said  Bessy.  "  The  face  a  little  more 
that  way — Not  so  serious — Not  so  smiling — Don't 
sit  so  stiffly — Raise  your  finger — Don't  move  about 
so  much. — And  you've  laid  so  much  licorice-juice 
on  my  portrait  that  they'll  fancy  I'm  a  gipsy  girl." 

I  hastened  to  assure  her  that  this  was  only  laying 
the  ground  work,  and  that  on  the  morrow  it  would 
be  a  much  merrier  business. 

The  next  day  I  was  there  again  after  an  early 
dinner.  In  the  forenoon  I  was  with  my  chief  at  the 
office.  Thus  before  dinner  I  was  a  lawyer,  and  after 
dinner  I  was  artist,  poet,  and  reciter. 

This  time  there  was  no  company.  The  picture 
proceeded  briskly,  and  the  members  of  the  family 
were  allowed  to  come  in  from  time  to  time,  one  by 
one,  and  have  a  peep  at  it. 

I  had  now  begun  to  study  the  face  more  in  detail. 
It  was  an  interesting  head.  The  face  was  almost 
heart-shaped,  terminating  below  in  a  little  chin 
which  was  delicately  divided  by  a  single  dimple. 
There  were  spiral-like  lips  of  dazzling  red  enamel ; 
a  slightly  reirouss4  nose,  v.ith  vibrating  nostrils  ; 
round,  rosy-red  cheeks,  with  little  beauty  spots  here 


20  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

and  there,  which  I  christened  "  black  stars  in  the 
ruddy  dawning  heavens  !  "  Her  densely  thick  hair 
curled  naturally,  and  gleamed  like  golden  enamel, 
diminishing,  after  the  manner  of  Phidias'  ideal 
Venus,  the  smoothest  of  foreheads,  and  fluttering 
the  most  roguish  of  little  ringlets  over  the  blue- 
veined  temples.  (How  could  I  help  learning  by 
heart  such  minute  details  when  every  one  of  them 
passed  beneath  my  brush?)  But  what  my  brush 
could  not  possibly  reproduce  was  her  marvellous 
pair  of  eyes.  They  drove  me  entirely  to  despair.  I 
really  believe  that  even  if  I  had  been  a  true  artist 
instead  of  a  wretched  dilettante,  I  should  never  have 
been  able  to  conjure  forth  their  secrets.  Just  when 
I  was  thinking  I  had  fixed  them,  her  eyes  would 
flash,  and  my  whole  work  was  thrown  away.  At 
last  I  had  to  be  content  with  a  dreamy  expression, 
which  pleased  we,  at  any  rate,  best.  The  inspecting 
family  trio  said  that  they  had  never  seen  such  au 
expression  on  Bessy's  face  ;  nevertheless  they  ac- 
knowledged, with  one  voice,  that  it  was  a  speaking 
likeness. 

The  head  was  now  ready,  the  dress  was  to  remain 
till  to-morrow. 

On  that  day  there  was  a  preference  party  in  town 
at  the  General's.  Bessy's  mother  was  an  enthu- 
siastic preference  player.  .  ,  .  Consequently  she 
was  not  at  home.  The  aunt  alone  remained  as 
the  guardian  of  maidens,  and  she  used  generally  to 
take  a  nap  in  the  afternoon,  or  play  patience.    I 


THE  READJUSTED  SCARF  21 

don't  know  who  presided  over  Bessy's  toilet  on  this 
occasion,  perhaps  nobody.  That  clean-cut,  pale 
pink  bodice  on  other  days  had  given  full  scope  to 
her  charming  figure  ;  but  on  this  particular  day 
it  was  more  insinuating  than  ever.  It  seemed  to 
me  as  if  the  frill  of  English  tulle  had  crept  con- 
siderably lower  down  the  shoulder,  nay,  lower 
still. 

One  cannot  imagine  a  lovelier  masterpiece  of  a 
creative  hand  than  that  bust.  And  it  is  a  painter's 
right,  nay,  his  duty,  not  merely  to  look,  but  to  ob- 
serve. A  dangerous  privilege.  My  hand  trembled, 
I  seemed  to  freeze,  and  yet  beads  of  sweat  stood  out 
upon  my  forehead.  .  .  .  She,  too,  seemed  to 
remark  my  agitation.  A  roguish  flame  sparkled  in 
her  eye.  She  was  now  not  a  bit  like  her  yester- 
day's portrait.  She  seemed  to  be  flouting  me.  And 
I  was  putting  that  treacherous  frill  of  tulle  to  rights 
in  the  picture,  putting  it  where  it  ought  to  have 
been.  That  is  what  I  really  call  "  corriger  la 
fortune.'^ 

At  this  sitting  the  face  was  completely  finished, 
and  the  dress  also  was  painted.  I  thanked  the  fair 
self-sacrificing  victim,  and  told  her  that  she  might 
now  look  at  the  picture ;  it  was  ready.  The  girl  rose 
from  her  chair  and  peeped  over  my  shoulder.  She 
looked  at  the  picture  and  laughed  in  my  face. 

"  Why,  you've  readjusted  the  frill  of  my  dress, 
haven't  you  ?  "  said  she. 

**  So  you  wore  it  like  that  purposely,  eh  ?  " 


22  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  Then  was  there  something  you  didn't  want  to 
see?" 

"  There  was  something  I  didn't  want  other  people 
to  see." 

"  "Well,  now,  I've  been  looking  at  you  for  days 
and  days,  and  I've  observed  something  on  you  which 
is  very  nasty,  and  which  I  don't  like  at  all." 

"I  had  no  idea  you  gave  me  so  much  of  your 
attention." 

"  It  is  only  a  mere  speck,  no  bigger  than  the  eye 
of  a  bean." 

"  What  can  it  be  ?  " 

"  The  wart  on  your  right  hand." 

And,  indeed,  on  my  right  hand,  just  below  the 
thumb,  was  a  not  very  ornamental  excrescence, 
which  everybody  could  see  when  I  was  writing  or 
painting. 

"  I  cannot  cut  it  out,  because  it  is  just  above  the 
artery.  I  showed  it  to  a  doctor,  and  he  said  it 
would  be  a  rather  dangerous  operation." 

"  What  does  the  doctor  know  about  it  ?  I'll  des- 
troy it  for  you  ;  it  won't  hurt  you.  I  learned  it  at 
school  from  my  school-fellows.  I'll  destroy  it  in  a 
moment." 

"  By  incantations,  eh  ?  " 

"  Oh,  dear  no !  It  will  smart  dreadfully.  But  if 
a  girl  can  stand  it,  you  can." 

I  consented. 

She  lit  a  candle  forthwith,  and  placed  it  on  the 
table  beside  me.      Then  .she  produced  a  darning- 


THE  SECOND  NEEDLE-PRICK  23 

needle  from  somewhere  (I  thought  of  the  other 
darning-needle),  took  firm  hold  of  it,  shoved  it  right 
down  to  the  very  roots  of  the  wart,  held  up  my 
hand,  and  placed  the  head  of  the  needle  in  the 
candle  flame  till  it  was  heated  to  a  white  heat.  And 
all  the  time  her  wondrous  eyes  were  opened  round 
and  wide,  and  looked  straight  into  my  eyes  with 
irises  turned  downwards.  It  is  thus  that  the 
demons  of  hell  must  look  upon  those  whom  they 
are  roasting ! 

"  Does  it  hurt  ? "  she  hissed  between  her  teeth. 
She  appeared  to  be  in  a  state  of  ecstatic  delight. 

"It  hurts,  but  it  is  not  the  needle." 

"  "Well,  now  you  can  take  your  wart  away  with 
you." 

Two  days  after,  the  calcined  wart  fell  from  my 
hand,  leaving  behind  it  a  little  speck  no  bigger  than 
a  lentil ;  and  that  speck  is  there  still,  and  is  of  a 
whiteness  which  contrasts  strongly  with  the  colour 
of  the  rest  of  the  hand.  And  every  day  I  set  to  work 
writing,  I  must  needs  look  at  this  little  white  spot, 
and  when  I  have  looked  at  it  long,  it  seems  to  me  as 
if  her  face  were  appearing  before  me  in  the  midst  of 
this  tiny  circle  just  as  it  looked  then ;  and  then 
that  face  runs  through  all  its  variations  down  to 
that  last  shape  of  all,  which  still  startles  me  from 
my  slumbers. 


CHAPTER  m 

MY  MASTEBPIECE   AND   MY   HUT 

"FN  the  later  stages  of  the  painting  we  could  con- 
-'-  verse.  Indeed,  conversation  is  necessary  for 
completing  one's  study  of  one's  subject,  and  pre- 
vents, besides,  the  constraint  of  sitting  from  becom- 
ing too  tiresome. 

"  Have  you  read  the  poems  of  Petofi  ?  "  * 

"  Oh,  at  our  house  we  read  nothing." 

"Why  not?" 

"  Because  those  who  come  to  see  us  bring  no  books 
with  them." 

"  Then  don't  you  get  any  newspaper  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  the  Journal  des  Demoiselles ;  but  it's  a 
frightful  bore." 

"  A  Hungarian  paper  would  be  better,  the  Pesti 
Divatlap,  for  instance." 

"  I'll  tell  my  mother  to  order  it.    You  write  for  it 
sometimes,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"What?" 

"  The  description  of  a  desert  island  among  the 
sedges," 

*  The  Burns  of  Hungary. 

S4 


MY  MASTERPIECE  AND  MY  HUT  21b 

"  Have  you  ever  been  on  this  desert  island  ?  " 

"  No ;  I  only  imagine  it." 

"  What's  the  good  of  that  ?  " 

"  It's  part  of  a  romance  I'm  working  at." 

"  Ah,  so  you  write  romances !  Will  you  put  us 
into  them  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  !  Romance  writing  does  not  consist  in 
merely  copying  down  all  that  one  sees  and  hears 
about  one." 

"  I  should  hke  to  know  how  you  set  about  it? " 

"  First  of  all  I  think  out  the  end  of  the  story." 

"  What,  you  begin  at  the  end  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Then  I  create  the  characters  of  the  story. 
Then  I  deal  out  to  these  characters  the  parts  they 
must  play,  and  the  vicissitudes  they  must  go  through 
down  to  the  very  end  of  the  story." 

"  Then,  according  to  that,  none  of  it  is  true  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  real,  perhaps,  but  it  may  be  true,  for 
all  that." 

"  I  don't  understand.  And  how  much  time  do 
you  take  to  write  a  story  ?  I  suppose  it  will  come 
out?" 

"  Certainly." 

"  Ah,  yes,  'tis  an  easy  thing  for  you  to  do !  You 
have  a  rich  aunt  at  O  Gyalla,  and  you've  only  got 
to  say  a  word  to  her  and  she'll  get  your  book 
printed  for  you.  I  suppose  you've  only  got  to  ask 
her  ?  " 

"  I  shall  not  tell  my  rich  aunt  a  word  about  it." 

"  Then  you'll    get   your   book   printed   at  Fani 


26  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"Weinmiiller's,  I  suppose.  Now  listen,  that  won't  do 
at  all.  I  knew  an  author  who  published  his  own 
book  and  went  from  village  to  village,  and  per- 
suaded every  landed  proprietor  to  buy  a  copy  from 
him.     That  is  a  rugged  path." 

"  My  romance  will  not  be  one  of  those  which  the 
author  himself  has  to  carry  from  door  to  door ;  it 
will  be  one  of  those  for  which  the  publisher  pays 
the  author  an  honorarium." 

She  absolutely  laughed  in  my  face. 

And  after  all,  when  you  come  to  think  about  it, 
surely  it  is  somewhat  comical  when  a  person  comes 
forward  and  barefacedly  says,  "  Here,  I've  written 
something  in  which  there  is  not  one  word  of  truth, 
and  nevertheless  I  insist  upon  people  reading  it,  and 
paying  me  for  writing  it." 

"  Do  you  fancy.  Miss  Bessy,  that  Petofi  was  not 
paid  for  his  poems?  He  got  two  hundred  florins 
for  '  Love's  Pearls.'  " 

"  *  Love's  Pearls  ' !     And  pray  what  are  they  ?  " 

"  Lovely  poems  to  a  beautiful  girl." 

"  And  did  he  get  the  girl  ?  " 

"  No,  he  did  not." 

"  Well,  now,  that  is  a  nice  thing.  A  fellow  courts 
a  girl,  puts  his  feelings  into  verse,  finally  gets  a 
basket^  from  her,  and  then  demands  that  this 
basket  should  be  filled  for  him  with  silver  pieces." 

*  The  Hungarian  "Kosarat  kapni,"  like  the  German 
*'  einen  Korb  bekommen  "  (to  get  a  basket),  is  the  equivalent 
of  our  "  to  get  a  flea  in  one's  ear,"  i.e.,  "  a  rejection." 


MV  MASTERPIECE  AND  MY  HUT  27 

The  same  day  I  sent  her  Petofi's  "  Love's  Pearls," 
and  his  "  Cypress  Leaves  "  also. 

I  resumed  my  portrait  painting  three  days  after- 
wards, and  immediately  asked  her  whether  she  had 
taken  up  "  Love's  Pearls." 

"  Oh,  yes ;  I  took  them  up  to  dry  flowers  in 
them." 

"But  I  suppose  you've  just  dipped  into  the 
*  Cypress  Leaves  '  ?  " 

"  I  don't  like  such  things.  I  always  burst  into 
tears ;  and  then  my  nose  gets  quite  red." 

I  did  not  pursue  the  subject  further. 

Miss  Bessy  hastened,  however,  to  sweeten  my 
bitter  disappointment  with  the  delightful  intelli- 
gence that,  at  my  suggestion,  mamma  had  at  once 
subscribed  to  the  Festi  Divatlap^  and  for  six  months, 
too. 

I  was  there  when  the  postman  brought  the  first 
four  copies  of  the  paper.  In  those  days  every  paper 
had  to  be  sent  through  the  post  in  an  envelope, 
postage  stamps  had  not  yet  been  invented.     .     .     . 

After  the  solemnity  of  breaking  open  the  envelope, 
the  assembled  womankind  naturally  looked  to  see 
if  there  were  any  pictures,  especially  pictures  of  the 
fashions. 

Was  it  not  called  "  Divatlap  "  ?  ^  And  a  fashion- 
able journal  it  really  was.  That  worthy,  high- 
souled  patriot,  Emericus  Vahot,  was  labouring  with 

'  Fashionable  journal. 


28  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

iron  determination  to  make  fashion  a  national 
affair. 

"  Well,  whoever  wore  that  might  exhibit  herself 
for  money  ! "  That  was  the  universal  verdict  of 
the  ladies.  They  alluded  to  one  of  the  fashion 
patterns. 

The  illustrated  supplement  to  the  second  number 
was  G-abriel  Egressy  as  Richard  III.,  in  the  dream 
scene,  surrounded  by  spectres ;  the  picture  was 
sketched  by  our  countryman  Valentine  Kiss. 

Her  ladyship  asked  me  which  was  the  head  of 
the  principal  figure,  and  which  the  feet.  And  I 
must  confess  that  I  myself  could  not  quite  make  out 
how  Richard  III.  had  got  his  head  between  his 
knees. 

With  the  illustrated  supplement  to  the  third 
number,  however,  they  were  quite  satisfied.  It  was 
Rosa  Laborfalvy  ^  as  Queen  Gertrude,  by  Barabas, 
a  work  of  real  artistic  merit.  This  interested  the 
ladies  greatly. 

"  They  say  she  has  such  wonderful  eyes  that 
there's  nothing  like  them  anywhere,"  said  Miss 
Bessy. 

The  logical  consequence  of  this  should  have  been 
a  contradiction  accompanied  by  a  flattering  com- 
pliment on  my  part ;  but  all  at  once  it  was  as  if 
something  so  squeezed  my  throat  that  I  absolutely 
could  not  get  the  courtly  expression  out  anyhow. 
*'  I  have  never  seen  her,"  I  replied. 

*  Jokai's  future  \vife,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel. 


MV  MASTERPIECE  AND  MY  HUT  29 

At  the  end  of  the  fourth  number  was  a  lithograph 
representing  a  slim,  youthful  figure,  and  beneath  it 
was  written  the  name,  Alexander  Petofi.  It  was 
one  of  the  best  sketches  of  Barabas.  It  is  the  one 
absolutely  faithful  portrait  of  the  immortal  poet. 
As  such  he  was  known  by  all  thqge  who  lived  with 
him,  that  eye  gazing  forth  into  the  far  distance, 
that  mouth  opened  prophetically,  those  hands  crossed 
behind  him  as  if  he  would  hide  something  in  them. 
The  whole  portrait  seems  to  say,  "  I  will  be  Petofi  " ; 
all  the  other  portraits  say,  "  I  am  Petofi." 

This  picture  produced  a  great  impression  upon 
the  ladies,  for  the  appearance  of  a  lithographed 
portrait  in  a  journal  was  a  great  event.  In  those 
days  there  were  none  of  the  beneficent  penny  papers, 
whose  right  of  existence  is  considered  amply  justified 
if  the  frontispiece  represents  some  one  battering  an 
old  woman's  head  in  with  an  axe.  Only  great  and 
famous  patriots  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  figuring 
on  title-pages,  and  photogi'aphy  was  not  yet  in- 
vented. .  .  .  The  appearance,  then,  of  Petofi's 
portrait  in  an  illustrated  supplement  of  the  Divatlap 
created  quite  a  sensation.  .  .  .  The  companion 
at  once  undertook  to  read  the  book  of  verses  which 
had  been  sent  to  the  house  by  me.  Bessy,  on  the 
other  hand,  desired  to  know  whether  she  would 
find  anything  of  mine  in  the  portion  of  the  journal 
devoted  to  the  Belles-Lettres.  Immediately  after- 
wards she  actually  hit  upon  it.  It  was  a  portion 
of  my  romance,  which  appeared   there  under   the 


90  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

title  of  "  Az  ingovany  oaza  " — "  The  Oasis  of  the 
Fens." 

"  "Well,  I  mean  to  read  this  at  once." 

I  gave  her  plenty  of  time  to  do  so,  for  I  only 
appeared  again  after  the  lapse  of  several  days. 

She  really  had  read  it.  It  was  the  first  thing  she 
told  me. 

"  Now  I  am  curious  to  know,"  she  added,  "  what 
was  the  beginning  of  the  story  and  what  will  be 
the  end  ?    You  know,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  How  can  I  help  knowing  ?  " 

"  But  I  don't  understand  the  title.  Where  does 
the  *  oiseau  '  ^  come  in  ?  " 

I  explained  to  her  that  the  "  odz  "  was  not  a  flying 
fowl,  but  a  plot  of  verdure  concealed  in  the  desert. 

"  Then  why  don't  you  write  '  island '  ?  " 

She  was  right  there. 

"  Apropos  of  island,"  she  continued,  "  I  often  see 
you  from  the  verandah  of  our  island  summer-house 
walking  up  and  down  in  front  of  our  garden ;  yet 
you  never  give  us  so  much  as  a  glance,  though  we 
make  noise  enough." 

"  That  is  quite  possible.  At  such  times  I  am  im- 
mersed." 

"  Immersed  in  what  ?  " 

"  In  working  at  my  romance." 

'  The  Hungarian  odza  (oasis)  and  the  French  oiseau  are 
pronounced  so  very  much  alike,  that  the  ill-instructed  Bessy, 
who  had  never  heard  of  the  former,  not  unnaturally  con- 
founded them. 


My  MASTERPIECE  AND  MY  HUT  31 

"  "Working  and  walking  at  the  same  time  ?  " 

"  Such  is  my  habit.  I  work  out  the  whole  scene 
in  my  head  first  of  all,  down  to  the  smallest  details, 
so  that  when  I  sit  down  it  is  a  mere  mechanical 
a-b-c  sort  of  business." 

"  Then  according  to  that,  when  you  are  marching 
with  rapid  strides  up  and  down  that  long  path,  you 
neither  hear  nor  see  anything  ?  " 

"  Pardon  me,  I  see  grass,  trees,  flowers,  birds, 
stumps  of  trees,  and  huts  of  reeds  overgrown  with 
brambles.  Amongst  all  these  I  weave  my  thoughts 
like  the  meshes  of  a  spider's  web.  And  I  hear,  too. 
I  hear  the  piping  of  the  yellow-hammer,  the  twit- 
tering of  the  titmouse,  the  notes  of  the  horn  from 
distant  ships,  the  humming  of  the  gnats,  and  they 
all  have  something  to  whisper  to  me,  something  to 
tell  me.  A  buzzing  wasp  lends  wings  to  my  imagi- 
nation ;  but  if  I  meet  a  human  face,  the  whole  thing 
flies  out  of  my  thoughts,  and  a  single  *  your  humble 
servant '  will  dissolve  utterly  my  fata  Morgana^  until 
I  turn  back  and  reconstruct  the  ends  of  my  spider's- 
web  among  the  freshly-discovered  reed-built  huts, 
tree-trunks  and  trailing  flowers,  when  the  well- 
known  voices  of  the  dwellers  in  the  wilderness 
bring  back  to  me  again  my  scattered  ideas ;  then 
I  retreat  into  the  little  wooden  summer-house  in 
our  garden,  and  there,  disturbed  by  nobody,  I  trans- 
fer to  paper  the  images  which  stand  before  my 
mind.^ 

And  Bessy,  contrary  to  my  expectation,   didn't 


32  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

laugh  at  this  elucidation.  On  the  contrary,  she  had 
grown  quite  serious.  The  expression  of  her  eyes 
now  resembled  the  expression  which  I  had  given 
them  in  her  portrait. 

"  And  this  gives  you  pleasure  ?  "  she  whispered. 
"  It  is  just  as  if  a  man  were  to  set  off  dreaming  after 
taking  care  beforehand  that  all  his  dreams  should 
turn  out  beautiful." 

"  Mr.  Muki  Bagotay,"  announced  the  footman. 

I  took  up  my  hat.  I  could  not  endure  that  fellow. 
He  had  already  enjoyed  everything  in  reality  which 
existed  for  me  only  in  imagination.     .     .     . 

The  little  wooden  hut  there  in  the  orchard  on  the 
Danubian  islet  (whether  it  is  still  there  I  know  not) 
was  the  most  splendid  palace  in  which  I  ever  dwelt. 
'Twas  there  I  wrote  my  first  romance.  It  is  true 
that  it  had  to  put  up  with  a  lot  of  criticism,  that  first 
romance.  What,  indeed,  did  a  young  mind  which 
knew  nothing  of  men  or  of  the  world  understand 
about  romance  writing  ?  And  yet  I  loved  my  first 
work,  just  as  much  as  a  man  loves  his  first-born, 
though  it  may  be  deformed  by  all  sorts  of  physical 
and  spiritual  defects.  How  plainly  I  still  see  before 
me  those  large,  wide-spreading  Reineclaude  trees, 
crammed  with  fruit  ripe  to  bursting,  which  covered 
the  little  hut.  A  little  farther  oflf  was  an  apple- 
tree  covered  with  blood-red  fruit,  and  then  a  second 
with  taffety  white,  and  a  third  with  velvety  apples. 
From  the  open  door  of  the  hut  one  could  see  right 
along  the  overgrown  path,  which  was  bordered  on 


MY  MASTERPIECE  AND  MY  HUT  33 

both  sides  by  bowery  vines.  When  the  warm  blood- 
red  rays  of  summer  pierced  through  the  meshes  of 
the  foliage,  it  seemed  as  if  every  shadow  was  of 
green-gold.  Far  away  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube 
could  be  heard  the  delusive  echoes  from  the  military 
band  in  the  "  English  Garden,"  whilst  closer  at  hand 
the  yellow-hammer  piped,  and  a  frog  here  and  there 
croaked  in  the  irrigating  trenches.  I  was  writing 
the  hardest  part  of  my  romance — the  love  part,  that 
most  undiscoverable  of  all  unknown  worlds.  One 
may  write  down  a  description  of  the  marsh  world 
from  the  imagination,  but  not  a  description  of  the 
world  of  love.  If  the  heart  has  not  already  dis- 
covered it,  the  head  can  tell  us  nothing  at  all  about  it. 

All  at  once  the  green-gold  shadows  were  lit  up  by 
something  bright.  She  was  standing  there  in  the 
door  of  my  hut,  dressed  in  a  white  frock,  with  a 
straw  hat  fastened  to  two  blue  ribbons  hanging 
upon  her  arm,  and  her  dishevelled  locks  floating 
down  her  shoulders.  For  a  moment  I  fancied  that 
the  dream  -  shapes  of  my  imagination  had  taken 
bodily  form.  Then  her  ringing  peal  of  laughter 
assured  me  that  a  living  person  stood  before  me. 

"  How  did  you  come  here  ?  " 

"  How  ?  Why,  by  walking  over  the  soft  grass, 
of  course." 

"  Alone  ?  " 

"  Alone !  Why  not  ?  Whom  should  I  have 
brought  with  me,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  I  suppose 
I  may  come  to  a  neighbour's  garden  unattended  ?  " 

D 


84  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

It  was  quite  true  that  our  gardens  were  only 
about  a  hundred  feet  apart,  lying  one  on  each  side 
of  the  common  path,  which  ran  right  through  the 
island. 

"  You  don't  seem  to  give  me  a  very  hearty  re- 
ception," pouted  she,  as  she  entered  my  hut. 

My  head  began  to  swim. 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  am  overjoyed  at  the  honour 
you  do  me,  and  I'll  gather  for  you  at  once  some 
of  our  princely  plums." 

Nobody  else  had  such  plums  then,  and  it  was  a 
good  excuse,  besides,  for  quitting  the  hut. 

"I  did  not  come  for  the  sake  of  your  princely 
plums;  I  filch  them  long  before  you  ever  taste 
them.  I  have  come  now  to  see  how  you  make  up 
your  romance." 

I  pointed  out  to  her  that  here  was  the  paper  and 
there  the  pen,  and  all  a  man  had  to  do  was  to  take 
up  the  pen,  and  it  went  on  writing  of  its  own  accord. 

"  Then  you  don't  peep  into  any  book  first  of  all  ?  " 

"  You  can  see  that  I  am  provided  with  no  tools 
of  that  sort." 

"  Well,  now,  sit  down,  and  I'll  sit  down  beside 
you  and  see  how  you  write." 

And  then,  not  waiting  for  an  invitation,  she  sat 
down  at  the  end  of  my  sofa,  driving  me  into  the 
dilemma  of  sitting  down  by  the  table,  willy-nilly, 
likewise.  I  may  mention  that  my  hut  was  so 
narrow  that  the  table  reached  from  the  door  to  the 
window. 


MV  MASTERPIECE  AND  MY  HUT  35 

"  I  can't  write  a  word,  though,  at  this  moment," 
said  I. 

"  Why  ?    Because  I'm  here  ? '» 

"  Naturally." 

"  Then  read  me  what  you  have  just  written." 

"There's  a  lot  of  it." 

"  So  much  the  better.  I  can  remain  here  all  the 
longer." 

"  Won't  they  miss  you  at  home  ?  " 

"  They  know  that  I  am  sure  to  turn  up  again." 

Vanity  is  the  horn  by  which  one  may  always 
catch  hold  of  a  man.  It  flattered  me  to  read  what 
I  had  written,  whoever  the  listener  might  be.  In 
other  parts  of  the  kingdom  I  had  already  gained 
applause  with  my  recitations,  but  nobody  in  my 
own  narrow  little  town  had  ever  heard  me  speak. 
Nemo  profeta  in  patria. 

And  Bessy  was  a  very  appreciative  audience. 
You  could  read  from  her  face  the  effect  I  produced 
and  the  interest  she  took.  She  rested  her  face  on 
her  hand,  smoothed  down  her  hair,  and  fixed  her 
attention  that  she  might  listen  the  better.  She 
seemed  quite  frightened  at  the  exciting  scenes,  her 
eyes  and  lips  opened  wide.  I  do  not  say  this  to 
praise  myself,  but  simply  as  a  justification  of  the 
fact  that  in  those  days  I  could  recite  with  consider- 
able emphasis.  In  one  place,  however,  my  voice 
began  to  falter. 

"Well,  what  is  it?  Can't  you  read  your  own 
writing  ?  " 


86  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  Yes — no,  I  mean.  I  think  we  tad  better  leave 
off  here?" 

"Why?  You've  come  to  the  most  interesting  part." 

"  I  don't  want  to  read  it  to  you." 
.    "Why?    Do  you  mean  to  say  you  write  such 
things  as  a  girl  ought  not  to  know  ?  " 

"No,  no !  Anybody  may  read  it  except  myself — 
before  you." 

The  girl  laughed,  but  there  was  something  bitter 
in  her  laugh  too. 

"  Oh,  don't  be  anxious  on  my  account,  pray !  We 
read,  at  school,  things  of  which  you  have  no  idea. 
It  is  an  old  institution  among  us  that  every  girl 
when  she  marries  shall  write  a  letter  to  her  school 
friends  on  the  very  day  after  her  wedding  We 
have  a  whole  collection  of  such  letters." 

"  And  do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  have  pro- 
mised to  increase  this  collection  ?  "  1  cried,  with  all 
the  indignation  of  my  youthful  mind. 

The  girl  must  have  guessed  my  anger  from  my 
face,  for  she  cast  down  her  eyes  and  said,  in  a  low 
voice  :  "It  depends  upon  whose  I  shall  be." 

Immediately  afterwards  she  laughed  uproarious! 3- : 
"  You  may  read  j^our  love-scene  before  me." 

I  answered  more  firmly  than  ever:  "I  will  not 
read  it  before  you." 

She  understood  and  stared  at  me. 

"You  fear,  perhaps,  that  I  shall  take  it  for  a 
declaration?  You  think,  perhaps,  that  I  shall  laugh 
at  you  in  consequence  ?  " 


MV  MASTERPIECE  AND  MY  HUT  87 

"  No  !     You  will  not  laugh  at  me." 

"  Then  what  are  you  afraid  of  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  fear,  I  wait." 

"  Wait !     For  what  ?  " 

"  I  am  waiting  till  I  count  for  something  in  ther 
world  ;  at  present  I  am  a  mere  cipher." 

"  One  who  is  born  a  man  can  never  be  a  mere 
cipher." 

"  Look  now !  This  wooden  booth  is  at  present  the 
whole  of  my  property,  this  little  pile  of  paper  my 
whole  claim  upon  the  world ;  but  in  my  soul  there 
is  a  vigorous  flame  to  which  I  can  give  no  name. 
This  flame  would  suffice  to  make  a  man  a  pretender 
to  a  throne,  but  it  is  not  sufficient  to  make  him  pro- 
pose to  a  girl." 

"  But  you  know  that  I  am  rich." 

"  And  I  am  still  richer,  for  I  dine  deliciously  oil 
a  crust  of  bread,  and  I  sleep  sweetly  on  a  bed  of 
straw." 

"  Well,  and  that  pleases  me  too.  /  like  a  crust 
of  bread  and  a  bed  of  straw.  You  do  not  know  me. 
A  man  might  make  ai  she-devil  of  me,  though  he 
built  a  temple  in  my  name  straight  off,  enshrined 
me  on  the  altar,  and  knelt  down  before  me.  But  he 
whom  I  truly  loved  might  make  an  angel  of  me.  I 
could  be  happy  anywhere :  in  a  shepherd's  hut,  a 
strolling  player's  tent,  at  a  soldier's  bivouac,  in  a 
schoolmaster's  clay  cabin.  I  would  dream  of  luxury 
on  my  bed  of  straw." 

And  with  that,  she  threw  herself  at  full  length  on 


88  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

my  bare  sofa,  and  clasped  her  hands  above  her 
head. 

Oh,  what  distracting  loveliness ! 

Was  it  a  blessing  or  a  chastisement  on  the  part  of 
guiding  Providence  that  I  was  able,  at  that  moment, 
to  see  with  my  soul  as  well  as  with  my  eyes  ?  This 
girl  had  in  a  few  words  unfolded  before  me  the 
whole  of  her  coming  destiny.  ...  I  sat  down 
at  her  feet  by  the  side  of  the  bare  old  sofa,  and 
looked  into  her  eyes. 

Very  softly  I  said  to  her :  "  She  whom  I  love  will 
not  be  my  slave,  but  my  queen.  I  will  not  filch  my 
happiness,  but  win  it.  And  she  to  whom  I  shall 
dedicate  my  heart  shall  be  crowned  by  me  with  an 
aureola  of  glory,  just  as  the  rich  of  this  world  load 
their  darlings  with  pearls  and  diamonds.  The  lady 
of  my  heart  must  be  honoured  by  all  the  world — but 
most  of  all  by  myself." 

At  these  words  the  half-closed  eyelids  opened. 
The  girl  began  to  sob  violently,  leaped  to  her  feet, 
threw  her  arms  round  my  neck,  kissed  me,  and  ran 
away. 

And  I  looked  after  her  like  one  that  dreams,  while 
the  shrubs  and  the  vine-leaves  concealed  her  vanish- 
ing form.  The  yellow-hammer  cried  in  my  ear, 
"  Silly  boy,  siUy  boy  !  "  And  immediately  there 
occurred  to  my  mind  the  story  of  the  young  man 
whose  confessor  gave  him  a  bundle  of  hay  to  eat  as 
a  penance  for  a  sin  unachieved. 

And  now,  too,  when  I  stand  before  the  big  silly 


MY  MASTERPIECE  AND  MY  HUT  39 

bookcase,  whicli  is  filled  with  notliing  but  my  own 
works,  I  often  think,  would  it  not  have  been  better 
if  they  had  none  of  them  been  ever  thought  out  ? 
And  instead  of  writing  so  much  for  the  whole  world, 
would  it  not  have  been  better  if  I  had  written  for 
my  own  private  use,  just  so  much  as  would  go 
within  the  inside  cover  of  a  family  Bible  ?  Nowa- 
days, a  whole  street  in  my  native  town  is  called 
after  my  name  :  would  it  not  have  been  better  if  all 
I  had  there  were  a  simple  hut  ? 

But  no !  I  willed  it  so,  and  if  it  were  possible  for 
me  to  go  back  to  the  diverging  cross-roads  of  my 
opening  life,  I  would  tread  once  more  in  the  self- 
same footprints  that  I  have  left  so  long  behind  me. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PETOFI  "WITH  US — PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTUEE — THE  EAPE 
OP  THE  BEIDES — AMATEUE  THEATEICALS — MY 
MENSHIKOV 

T  REALLY  imagined  that  I  loved  and  was  beloved. 
-'-  I  was  always  a  welcome  guest  at  her  ladyship's 
house,  and  was  a  regular  visitor  on  her  "  at  home  " 
days.  On  such  occasions  I  learnt  to  know  Bessy 
from  another  point  of  view.  She  was  a  musician 
also.  She  could  play  the  fiddle.  Whether  she 
played  artistically  I  really  cannot  say,  for  I  don't 
understand  music,  and  couldn't  tell  the  difference 
between  Paul  Racz  ^  and  Sarasate ;  but  so  much  is 
certain,  she  knew  all  the  cunning  tricks  and  poses 
which  I  admired  so  much  in  the  famous  musicians 
of  a  later  day.  She  could  make  arpeggios  and 
pizzicatos  like  Ole  Bull,  fugJie  di  diavolo  Uke  Re- 
menyi,  and  pianissimos  like  Sarasate.  She  could 
make  her  fiddle  weep  softly  like  Milanollo  and  Miss 
Terezina  Tua,  and  she  could  lash  it  savagely  with 
her  fiddle-bow  like  the  Russian  Princess  Olga 
Korinshka,  or  play  with  the  instrument  close  up  to 
ear  like  a  gipsy  primds?    When  she  played  she  had 

^  A  famous  gipsy  musician. 
*  The  leader  of  a  gipsy  band, 

40 


PETOFI  WITH  US  41 

the  beauty  of  a  demon;  every  limb  was  set  in 
motion,  her  shoulders  marked  time,  her  bosom 
heaved,  her  body  waved  to  and  fro,  her  mouth 
smiled  provocatively,  her  eyes  sparkled ;  at  one 
moment  she  softly  caressed  the  fiddle  with  her  bow, 
at  another  she  flogged  the  strings  unmercifully,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  performance  she  stood  there  with 
the  pose  of  a  triumphant  Toreadrix.  At  such 
moments  every  one  was  fascinated  by  her;  why, 
then,  should  I  have  been  an  exception  ? 

One  day  I  got  a  letter  from  Petofi,  in  which  he 
informed  me  he  was  going  to  call  upon  us  the 
following  Sunday.  I  naturally  skipped  off  to  town 
at  once,  and  showed  the  letter  to  all  my  acquaint- 
ances. It  was  a  great  event  in  our  little  town. 
Petofi's  popularity  in  those  days  was  great  indeed  ; 
he  was  worshipped  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom 
to  the  other.  BLis  visit  was  regarded  as  an  extra- 
ordinary distinction.  On  Sunday  afternoon,  there- 
fore, half  the  population  of  the  town  had  assembled 
on  the  island,  where  the  landing-stage  of  the 
steamers  now  is.  Bessy's  family  was  also  there. 
All  the  religious  persuasions  were  represented  by 
the  presence  of  the  Benedictine  priests  and  the 
Calvinist  and  Lutheran  ministers.  The  captain  of 
the  civic  train  bands,  with  two  lackeys  in  gold 
liveries,  represented  the  magistracy;  and  Muki 
Bagotay  was  there  on  behalf  of  the  county  (he 
held  some  petty  office  or  other),  and  maintained 
that  he   knew   Petofi   very    well.      Congratulatory 


43  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

speeches  had  been  got  ready,  and  lovely  hands  were 
to  present  handsome  bouquets  to  the  coming  guest. 
Petofi,  however,  when  he  had  crossed  over  the 
steamship  bridge  to  the  other  side,  troubled  him- 
self not  one  bit  about  the  congratulatory  mob,  left 
in  the  lurch  the  lovely  ladies  with  their  bouquets, 
and  the  distinguished  gentlemen  with  their  speeches, 
and,  dressed  as  he  was  in  his  short  carbonari  mantle, 
rushed  straight  towards  me,  threw  his  arms  round 
my  neck,  knocked  my  hat  from  my  head,  and  cried, 
"  Why,  Marksi !  Is  it  you,  you  old  scoundrel, 
Marksi!"  (he  never  would  call  me  by  my  proper 
name),  and,  with  that,  wrapping  me  in  one-half 
of  his  mantle,  he  dragged  me  with  him  towards 
the  town  just  as  if  he  knew  the  way  quite  well 
(he  had  never  been  there  before  in  his  life). 
The  windows  of  the  chief  thoroughfares  of  the 
town  were  adorned  with  flowers  and  with  fair 
damsels,  who  had  tricked  themselves  out  in  Petofi's 
honour,  which,  when  he  perceived,  he  thrust  me 
down  a  side  street,  and  so  we  got  at  last  to  our 
house  by  roundabout  by-paths,  on  which  we  met 
not  a  single  soul.  My  worthy  mother  received 
our  dear  guest  most  heartily,  not  because  he  was 
such  a  famous  poet,  but  because  he  was  my  good 
friend.  I  had  known  him  ever  since  we  had  been 
students  together  at  Papa,  when  they  had  called 
him  "  Petrovics."  Now,  however,  they  added  a 
syllable  to  his  name,  and  called  him  "  Petrekovics." 
Nothing  used   to  put  Petofi  into  such  a  rage  as 


PETOFI  WITH  US  4& 

when  anybody  called  him  by  his  rejected  family 
name.  But  even  this  he  took  in  good  part  from 
my  mother.  He  never  even  tried  to  put  her  right. 
"  Let  me  always  remain  Petrekovics  in  your  house !" 
he  would  say  to  her,  as  he  kissed  her  hand.  This 
was  by  no  means  his  usual  custom,  the  only  other 
person  whose  hand  he  used  to  kiss  was  his  own 
mother.  The  first  question  after  that  naturally  was 
about  his  favourite  dish.  My  mother  herself  looked 
after  the  cuisine,  and  the  following  day  the  whole 
family  assembled  to  dinner — my  brother  Charles, 
my  sister  Esther,  and  my  brother-in-law  Francis 
Valy  included. 

We  had  scarcely  risen  from  the  table  when  a 
lackey  in  silver  livery  arrived  from  Bessy's  mother 
with  a  gold-edged  letter  for  Petofi,  in  which  her 
ladyship  invited  him  to  her  "  at  home "  that 
evening.  The  entertainment  was  arranged  in  his 
honour.  All  the  beauties  and  the  notabilities  of 
the  town  would  be  there  together.  I  had  naturally 
received  a  similar  invitation  some  days  before. 

'Twas  thus  that  Petofi  answered  the  messenger 
— his  words  are  recorded  in  the  family  records : 
"  Tell  her  ladyship  that  I  am  inconsolable  at  the 
impossibility  of  coming  to  her  reception  this 
evening ;  but  this  time  I  have  come  specially 
to  visit  my  beloved  Marksi,  and  will  go  nowhere 
else." 

The  astonished  lackey  could  scarcely  grasp  the 
meaning  of  this  terrible  reply.     But   my  mother 


44  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

understood  it  right  well,  and  said,  "  Noble  young 
fellow!" 

But  I  said  nothing,  for  I  candidly  confess  that 
in  those  days  I  worshipped  a  pretty  girl  far,  far 
more  than  any  man  however  famous,  or  any  friend 
however  good. 

I  tried,  therefore,  to  explain  the  situation  to  my 
good  friend.  "  I  tell  you  what,  though  ;  that  pretty 
girl  is  there  about  whom  I  wrote  to  you." 

"  Then  give  yourself  up  to  that  pretty  girl,  but 
don't  sacrifice  me  to  her  likewise." 

"  If  you  could  only  hear  how  splendidly  she  plays 
the  fiddle." 

"  Fiddle,  do  you  say  ?  Then  don't  give  yourself 
up  to  her  either !  You  know  there  are  three  things 
in  this  world  that  I  hate — horse-radish  with  milk, 
the  critics,  and  after  that,  music."  (He  could  never 
be  persuaded  to  listen  to  an  opera.) 

"  But  Tony  Varady  also  plays  the  fiddle  !  "  (I 
should  explain  that  this  young  lawyer  shared 
Petofi's  room  with  him.) 

"  He  fiddles,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  useful  to  me." 

"  How  so  ?  " 

"In  our  neighbourhood  dwells  a  rascally  card- 
player,  who  comes  home  every  night  between  two 
and  three,  and  begins  to  sing.  I  immediately  wake 
Tony  and  say  to  him,  '  Rise,  and  fiddle  away  at  that 
fellow  there  ! '  Then  he  begins  to  fiddle  in  a  way 
that  makes  your  hair  stand  on  end,  and  your  blood 
run  cold,  and  in  ten  minutes  our  neighbour,  falling 


PETOFl    WITH  US  45 

upon  his  knees,  sobs  for  mercy,  and  declares  that  he 
will  leave  off  singing.  However,  from  to-day  I  live 
no  longer  with  Tony." 

"  Have  you  quarrelled  ?  " 

"On  the  contrary,  we  are  the  best  of  friends. 
But  I'll  tell  you  about  that  later  on ;  let  us  now 
talk  about  serious  things.  What  have  you  been 
doing  since  I  last  saw  you  ?  " 

I  showed  him  the  MS.  of  "  HetkOznapok." '  It 
was  just  ready. 

"  Why  do  you  call  it  '  HefckOznapok '  ?  " 

"In  order  that  nobody  may  expect  anything 
extraordinary  in  it." 

He  turned  over  the  leaves,  but  only  read  the 
headings  of  the  chapters. 

"  Well,  that  was  an  original  idea  of  yours,  I  must 
say,  to  choose  mottoes  from  popular  ballads  for  your 
chapter  headings.  I'll  take  this  with  me  to  Pest, 
and  get  it  published." 

"  Nobody  knows  me." 

"You're  wrong.  Bajza  and  VOrOsmarty  are  in- 
quiring about  you.  Your  specimen  composition  has 
been  much  approved.  I've  squeezed  twelve  florins 
for  it  out  of  Emericus  Vahot.  Frankenburg  was 
more  liberal.  He  sends  you  fifteen  for  '  The  Island 
Nepean.'  ^ 

And  Petofi  counted  out  the  twenty-seven  silver 

*  "  Every-day  Days."  One  of  the  best,  if  not  the,  best,  of 
Jokai's  earlier  works. 


46  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

florins  on  to  the  table.    It  was  my  first  honorarium. 

I  fancied  myself  a  Rothschild. 
"  This  romance  now  shall  be  published  by  Har- 

tleben." 

"  Are  you  on  good  terms  with  him?" 

"  I  don't  know  the  G-erman  fellow,  but  he's  the 

publisher  of  Ignatius  Nagy's  romances,  and  Nagy 

shall  recommend  it  to  him." 

"  But  will  Ignatius  Nagy  like  to  do  it  ?  " 

"  What !     "When    I    bring    him    such   work   as 

yours !    He  is  a  great  enemy  of  mine,  I  know,  but 

he  is  a  man  of  honour." 

And  with  that  he  thrust  my  manuscript  into  his 

knapsack,  but  without  locking  it. 
"  And  what  else  have  you  written  ?  " 
I  produced  another  heap  of  papers. 
"  A  play  entitled  Two  Guardians J^ 
"  And  what  do  you  want  to  do  with  it  ?  " 
"  To  compete  for  the  Academy  prize." 
"  Don't  do  that !     I  won't  allow  you.     You  com- 
peted once,  and  they  did  not  give  you  the  prize,  and 

yet  two  Academicians  were  on  your  side ;   don't 

give   them   any   more.     Give   your  pieces   to   the 

theatre." 

I  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  surrender. 

"  Now,  I'll  take  your  piece  to  Szigligeti.^     He  will 

at  once  recognise  in  you  a  dangerous  rival,  and  for 


'  Pseudonym  of  the  eminent  Hungarian  dramatist,  Joseph 
Szathm&ry. 


PLANS  FOR   THE  FUTURE  47 

that  very  reason  will  have  your  piece  brought  out 
instantly.     That's  the  sort  of  man  he  is !  " 

I  entrusted  my  piece  to  his  care. 

"  And  try  to  get  up  to  Pest  as  soon  as  possible. 
Don't  go  loafing  about  all  your  days  in  a  village  !  " 

"  As  soon  as  I  have  got  through  with  my  patvaria 
I'll  hasten  to  join  you." 

"  Get  ready  to  go  away  at  once.  To-morrow  I'll 
take  you  with  me  to  Gran." 

I  was  greatly  astonished. 

"  To  Gran !  Why,  what  business  have  we 
there?" 

"  We  go  not  to  do  business,  but  to  rob.  We  must 
steal  away  Tony  Varady's  bride  for  him.  That  is 
why  we  no  longer  live  together." 

But  now  the  members  of  my  family  had  also  a 
word  to  say. 

Petofi  then  related,  quite  calmly,  that  our  com- 
mon friend,  the  worthy  lawj'^er,  wished  to  take  to 
wife  the  daughter  of  a  landed  proprietor  at  Gran. 
The  girl's  parents  were  Catholics,  the  bridegroom 
was  a  Calvinist,  they  therefore  would  not  permit 
the  marriage.  But  the  young  people  really  loved 
each  other.  So  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  steal 
the  bride. 

The  thing  was  quite  clear.  I  could  make  no  ob- 
jection. When  a  man  is  poet  and  Protestant,  girl- 
stealing  in  such  a  situation  becomes  a  duty.  Just 
then  a  great  parliamentary  strife  was  going  on  con- 
cerning   mixed   marriages.      It  was    Guelph    and 


48  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

Ghibelline  over  again.  One  had  to  choose  one's 
party. 

So  on  the  following  day  I  really  did  set  out  with 
Petofi  to  steal  a  girl  for  the  benefit  of  a  third  friend. 
The  affair  succeeded  beyond  all  expectation.  We 
had  no  need  of  the  darkness  of  midnight  and  scaling 
ladders,  the  mere  appearance  of  Petofi  and  myself  at 
the  bride's  house  was  sufficient ;  the  parents  gave 
way,  and  the  priest  united  the  two  lovers.  Yet  for 
all  that  we  always  made  much  of  our  damsel-rob- 
bing adventure.  And,  indeed,  it  seemed  likely  to 
turn  out  a  dangerous  precedent.  Example  is  con- 
tagious. 

But  I  returned  home  with  the  guilty  conscious- 
ness that  I  had  absolutely  spoiled  the  soiree.  I  ex- 
pected that  I  should  be  pretty  severely  taken  to  task 
for  it.     How  should  I  put  things  to  rights  again  ? 

I  discovered  how  to  make  amends,  but  it  was  not 
without  great  artfulness  that  I  succeeded. 

Our  city  was  not  only  the  capital  of  the  county, 
but  a  fortress.  Consequently  one  might  frequently 
come  upon  vehicles  in  our  streets  which  consisted 
of  little  more  than  a  round  chest  on  two  wheels, 
crammed  full  of  water-butts  from  the  Danube,  am- 
munition, bread,  and  sacks  of  meal,  and  between  the 
poles  of  these  conveyances  were  fastened  a  couple 
of  human  beings  in  garments  of  grey  baize,  with 
twenty-pound  chains  fastened  to  their  legs.  The 
creatures  were  called  in  plain  Hungarian — slaves.* 
*  They  were  prisoners  condemned  to  penal  servitude. 


AMATEUR  THEATRICALS  49 

You  could  hear  the  rattling  of  their  fetters  from 
afar.  On  certain  days  while  the  self-same  creatures 
were  suffering  the  flogging  with  sticks,  which  was 
part  of  their  sentence,  their  woful  cries  resounded 
through  the  whole  town.  Thus  the  rattling  of 
chains  and  the  howls  of  woe  were  a  sort  of  speciality 
in  our  town.  And  the  sight  of  those  starved  faces 
too !  From  my  childish  years  upwards  this  slave- 
life  used  to  disturb  my  dreams. 

I  got  up  an  agitation  among  the  more  enthusi- 
astic of  the  youths  and  maidens  of  our  town  on  be- 
half of  the  poor  slaves.  If  the  affair  had  succeeded, 
I  should  of  course  never  have  bragged  about  it ;  but 
as  I  failed  in  it,  I  may  as  well  make  a  clean  breast 
of  it. 

It  was  determined,  at  my  suggestion,  to  invite 
Bessy's  mother  to  be  the  president  of  our  philan- 
thropic society.  A  deputation  set  off  at  once  to 
her  house,  and,  naturally,  I  was  its  spokesman. 
The  distinction  thus  conferred  upon  her  quite  wiped 
out  my  former  offence,  and  I  was  again  taken  into 
favour. 

The  first  problem  in  any  case  was  to  establish  our 
beneficent  scheme  on  a  sound,  financial  basis,  and 
the  simplest  waj''  of  getting  funds  was  by  means  of 
an  amateur  entertainment.  Of  this,  too,  I  was  the 
manager.  With  very  great  difficulty  the  programme 
was  finally  settled.  Overture  :  Beatrice  di  Tenda. — 
"  What's  the  watchword  ?  Death,  torture,  ruin,  to 
the  betrayers  of  the  fatherland !  "  rendered  by  the 

s 


60  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

glee  club  of  tlie  College.  After  that  a  flute  duet 
from  Lucia  di  Lammermoor,  piped  by  the  local  musi- 
cal society  and  a  young  lawyer.  That  was  to  be 
followed  by  a  humorous  recitation  of  my  own : 
"  Gregory  Sonkolyi " ;  then  came  an  exhibition  of 
legerdemain  by  Muki  Bagotay ;  and  last  of  all,  as 
pi^e  de  resistances  Bessy's  fiddling. 

It  was  a  terrible  business  to  bring  all  this  about. 
We  had  rehearsals  every  day  at  Bessy's  house.  I 
was  very  busy  just  then.  I  ought  to  have  been 
working  as  an  articled  clerk,  but  I'm  quite  sure  I 
never  looked  at  a  law-book.  At  last,  however,  it 
was  possible  to  fix  the  day  on  which  the  concert 
would  come  off. 

Meanwhile,  the  time  was  approaching  when  I 
ought  to  have  passed  my  patvaria,  and  gone  through 
my  jiirateria.  My  elder  brother  Charles  wrote  to  a 
well-known  lawyer  at  Pest,  who  had  a  large  prac- 
tice, to  take  me  into  his  office  as  a  juratus.  And  as 
winter  was  also  drawing  nigh,  and  I  was  about  to 
go  far,  far  away  into  a  strange  world,  my  good  and 
ever-blessed  mother  was  busying  herself  about  my 
outfit.  Nowadays  people  will  regard  it  as  a  fable, 
but  say  it  I  must,  that  all  the  linen  I  wore  during 
the  time  when  I  was  a  juratus  was  spun  by  my 
mother's  own  hands.  I  verily  believe  that  that 
shirt,  spun  by  a  mother's  hand,  and  worn  by  me, 
was  the  magic  web  which  turned  aside  so  many  of 
the  blows  of  fate. 

A  tailor  and  a  weaver  lived  in  some  of  the  smaller 


MY  MENSHIKOV  51 

houses  we  possessed ;  we  had  no  need  of  the  help  of 
strangers.  My  mother  also  provided  me  with  a 
good  winter  overcoat. 

It  was  really  a  capital  overcoat,  which  covered 
me  down  to  the  very  heels,  a  real  Menshikov  over- 
coat, very  fashionable  forty  years  later,  but  in  those 
days  worn  by  nobody  but  the  porters  of  the  Bene- 
dictine Order. 

When  I  appeared  at  the  amateur  rehearsals  at 
Bessy's  house  in  this  prematurely  born  Menshikov, 
a  circle  was  instantly  formed  round  me,  and  every 
one  asked  me,  with  ironical  congratulations,  where 
I  had  had  it  made.  Was  it  possible  to  get  the  fellow 
of  it  ?  Bessy  even  remarked  that  there  was  room 
for  two  in  it,  and  I  was  not  a  bit  offended  with  her. 

When  I  withdrew  (a  letter,  just  arrived  from 
Pest,  called  me  home),  I  scarcely  had  time  to  close 
the  door  behind  me,  when  I  heard  an  outburst  of 
merriment  inside.  When,  however,  I  had  got  out 
into  the  street  and  turned  round  to  have  a  last  look 
at  the  house  I  had  left  behind  me,  lo  and  behold ! 
all  the  windows  were  filled  with  groups  of  smiling 
faces,  amongst  which  I  saw  Bessy's  face  also. 
'They  are  all  in  a  very  good  humour  to-day,"  I 
thought  to  myself. 

Hastening  home,  I  found  there  the  letter  from  the 
Pest  lawyer,  in  which  he  informed  me,  with  official 
brevity,  that  there  was  a  vacant  place  for  a  juratus 
in  his  office,  which  I  might  occupy.  If,  however,  I 
did  not  come  and  claim  it  within  three  days,  the 


B2  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

vacant  place  would  be  given  to  some  one  else.  The 
amateur  entertainment  had  been  fixed  for  Sunday, 
and  it  was  now  Tuesday.  If  I  am  not  there  by 
Friday,  another  will  sit  in  my  place.  But  what 
wUl  become  of  the  concert?  Ought  I  to  leave 
Bessy  in  the  lurch — so  faithlessly  ? 

And  how  about  the  poor  slaves  ? 

Perhaps  the  lawyer  at  Pest  would  make  a  bargain 
with  me  and  give  me  a  con  pie  of  days'  grace  ?  I 
sat  down  to  reply  to  him :  "  Worshipful  Mr.  Advo- 
cate— I  feel  in  duty  bound  to  say,  in  reply  to  your 

honourable  communication "     Yes,  but  what  ? 

I  must  tell  him  some  lie  or  other.  Nay,  not  a  lie, 
only  a  freak  of  fancy.  A  sudden  illness  ?  No,  that's 
no  joke.  An  uncompleted  piece  of  law  business, 
which  I  must  finish  for  my  old  chief?  The  Pest 
lawyer  will  never  believe  that.  "What  pretext  could 
I  hit  upon  to  steal  a  little  more  time  ? 

While  I  was  stOl  biting  my  pen,  my  mother  came 
into  the  room,  and  said  to  me :  "  Where  have  you 
been,  my  dear  son  ?  " 

I  said  I  had  been  at  Bessy's  house. 

Then  she  said :  "  Now,  tell  me,  my  darling,  why 
do  you  run  after  these  great  people  ?  Don't  you  see 
that  they  are  only  making  fun  of  you  ?  " 

Something  like  a  cold  ague  fit  ran  down  my  back. 

Hadn't  I  myself  seen  and  heard  them  laugh  at 
me,  and  didn't  know  it  ?  and  here  was  my  mother 
who  had  neither  seen  nor  heard  it,  and  yet  she 
knew  it ! 


MY  MENSHIKOV  53 

Not  another  word  did  I  say,  but  I  went  on  with 
my  letter  .  .  ,  "that  I  will  come  to  Pest  at 
once  to-morrow  morning,  and  take  the  place  of 
juratus  offered  by  you." 

I  then  showed  my  mother  both  letters,  where- 
upon she  rewarded  me  with  that  blessed  smile  of 
hers  which  has  made  her  face  so  unforgettable  to 
me. 

She  immediately  packed  up  my  belongings  and 
placed  in  my  hand  what  little  money  she  had  put 
by,  so  that  I  might  not  want  for  anything  in  the 
expensive  capital.  I  wanted  to  write  to  Bessy  with 
an  apology  for  my  sudden  departure. 

"  Don't  go  scribbling  to  them,"  said  my  mother ; 
"  I'll  go  myself  to-morrow  to  her  ladyship  and  teU 
her  what  has  happened." 

The  following  afternoon  I  was  sitting  on  the 
steamer,  and  in  three  days  I  arrived  at  Pest.  .  .  . 
And  for  this  sudden  change  of  fortune  I  had  to 
thank  my  Menshikov  alone. 


CHAPTER  V » 

OLYMPIAN   STRIVINGS 

irT  was  Petofi  who  introduced  me  to  my  associates 
-'-  of  the  "  Table  of  Public  Opinion  "  (as  the  long 
table  close  to  the  counter  in  the  Cafe  Pillwax  was 
called),  and  who  got  me  a  place  there.  "  This  is  a 
true  Frenchman !  "  said  Petofi,  as  he  presented  me  to 
his  young  army  of  literati  who  were  assembled  there. 
In  those  days  this  was  the  highest  conceivable 
praise.  The  face  of  every  liberty-loving  nation  was 
turned  towards  France,  and  from  thence  we  ex- 
pected the  dawn  of  the  new  era.  We  read  nothing 
but  French  books.  Lamartine's  "  History  of  the 
Girondists "  and  Tocqueville's  "  Democracy  "  were 
our  bibles.  Petofi  worshipped  Beranger,  I  had 
found  my  ideal  in  Victor  Hugo.  .  .  .  This  school 
might  easily  have  become  dangerous  to  us  had 
not  its  influence  fortunately  coincided  with  the 
opening  up  of  a  new  and  hitherto  unexplored  field 
— popular  literature.  Hitherto  it  had  been  the  en- 
deavour of  Hungarian  writers  to  write  in  a  style 
which  was  distinct  from  the  language  of  ordinary 
life.  Our  group,  on  the  other  hand,  started  the  idea 
that  it  was  just  those  very  constructions,  expressions, 

*  This  chapter  is  somewhat  condensed. 


OLYMPIAN  STRIVINGS  55 

and  modes  of  thongLt  employed  in  every-day  life 
that  Hungarian  writers  ought  to  take  as  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  their  writing ;  nay,  that  they 
should  even  develop  the  ideally  beautiful,  poetry 
itself,  from  the  life  of  the  common  people.  ,  .  . 
As  belonging  to  this  camp  of  ours  I  must  also  reckon 
Sigismund  Czako,  who  acclimatized  the  modem 
drama  to  our  stage  with  marked  success ;  and  finally 
Anthony  Csengery,  the  editor  of  the  Pesti  Hirlap^ 
who  wrote  nothing  in  the  way  of  belles  lettres  him- 
self, but  whose  immense  erudition  and  thorough 
knowledge  of  literature  enabled  him  to  exercise  a 
most  beneficial  influence  over  the  whole  of  our 
group.  Amongst  our  older  writers  also,  Vorosmarty 
and  Bajza  watched  over  us  with  stimulating  en- 
couragement ;  but  it  was  Ignatius  Nagy  in  particular 
who  befriended  us,  and  of  him  I  have  the  most  plea- 
sant recollections.  ...  At  this  time  he  was  a 
cripple.  He  was  rarely  to  be  seen  in  the  street,  and 
then  only  on  his  wife's  arm.  He  stopped  at  home 
all  day  at  his  writing-table,  writing  those  life-like 
sketches  of  the  little  world  of  Buda-Pest  which 
testify  to  such  a  serene  good-humour.  The  first 
time  I  saw  him  was  when  I  went  to  speak  to  him 
about  my  novel,  "  Hetkoznapok."  He  had  a  most 
embarrassing  face  covered  with  dark-red  spots  right 
up  to  his  astonishingly  lofty  forehead,  whose  shiny 
baldness  was  half  cut  in  two,  as  it  were,  by  a  bright 
black  peruke.  He  had  also  an  inconceivably  big 
red  nose,  at  which,  however,  you  had  no  time  to  be 


56  EVES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

amazed,  so  instantly  were  you  spell-bound  by  a 
couple  of  squinting  eyes,  one  of  which  glared  as 
fixedly  at  you  as  if  it  were  made  wholly  of  stone. 
His  voice,  on  the  other  hand,  was  as  the  voice  of  a 
sick  child.  And  within  this  repulsive  frame  dwelt 
the  noblest  of  souls,  in  this  crippled  body  the  most 
energetic  of  characters.  From  no  strange  face  did 
I  ever  get  a  kinder  glance  than  I  got  from  those 
stiff  fishy  eyes,  and  that  sick  voice  announced  to 
me  my  first  great  piece  of  good  news.  Upon  his 
recommendation,  the  publisher  Hartleben  agreed  to 
publish  my  first  romance,  and  gave  me  for  it  360 
silver  florins.  In  those  days  that  was  an  immense 
fortune  to  me.  I  had  no  further  need  to  go  scrib- 
bling all  day  long  in  a  lawyer's  office  at  six  florins 
a  month.  And  his  fatherly  solicitude  for  me  went 
still  farther.  He  introduced  me  to  Frankenburg  as 
a  dramatic  critic.  The  editor  of  the  EletMpek  had 
just  parted  with  his  dramatic  critic  (he  had  been  a 
little  too  unmerciful  to  the  artistes),  and  was  looking 
out  for  a  new  colleague.  By  way  of  honorarium  he 
offered  me  a  free  seat  at  the  theatre,  and  ten  florins 
a  month.  But  my  year  of  office  came  to  an  end 
the  very  first  week.  To  make  amends  for  the  sins 
of  my  predecessor,  I  lauded  every  artist  to  the  skies, 
according  to  the  dictates  of  my  youthful  enthusiasm. 
And  I  can  honestly  say  that  I  wrote  it  all  from  my 
very  heart.  It  was  then  that  I  saw  a  ballet  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life.  It  was  my  solemn  conviction 
that  I  was  bound  by  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  ex- 


OLYMPIAN  STRIVINGS  67 

cellent  damsel  who  exhibited  her  natural  charms  to 
the  public  eye  with  such  magnanimous  frankness. 
And  a  pretty  lecture  Frankenburg  read  me  for  it 
too !  "  Delightful  Sylphid  indeed !  A  clumsy 
stork,  I  should  say  !  "  Still,  that  might  have  passed. 
But  it  was  my  magnifying  of  Lilla  Szilagyi  who 
took  the  part  of  Smike  in  the  Beggars  of  London 
which  did  the  business  for  me.  I  said  of  her  that 
she  was  "  a  lovely  sapling !  "  and  promised  her  a 
brilliant  future  in  her  dramatic  career.  "  Leave  her 
where  you  found  her !  She  has  got  no  heart  that's 
certain !  "  said  the  editor.  "  Then  she'll  get  one !  " 
said  I.    "  But  you'll  never  get  to  be  a  critic,"  said  he. 

And  so,  for  Lilla  Szilagyi's  sake,  I  laid  down  my 
role  of  critic,  and  yet  I  was  right  after  all,  for,  as 
Madame  Bulyovszky,  she  really  did  become  a  great 
artiste.  Now,  however,  I  bless  my  fate  that  things 
fell  out  as  they  did.  Terrible  thought :  fancy  if  I 
now  only  had  the  reputation  of  a  famous — critic  ! 

A  few  days  after  that,  a  new  career  suddenly 
opened  before  me.  Paul  Kiralyi  invited  me  to  join 
his  newspaper,  the  Jelenlcor,  as  a  correspondent.  He 
offered  me  a  salary  of  thirty-five  florins  a  month. 
Of  course  I  jumped  at  it.  Newspaper  writing  was 
a  very  grateful  task  in  those  days.  The  paper 
appeared  thrice  a  week.  That  was  quite  sufficient 
to  give  us  all  the  news.  It  is  different  now.  Now- 
adays more  murders,  suicides,  and  burglaries  occur 
in  the  twenty-four  hours  than  occurred  in  a  whole 
twelvemonth  then. 


B8  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

And  a  newspaper  contributor  was  then  a  personage 
of  some  importance.     Let  me  give  an  example : — 

I  lived  with  the  dramatist,  Szigligeti.  In  the 
summer  we  occupied  a  whole  flat  in  a  brand-new 
house  in  Pipe  Street,  and  there  1  had  a  room  of  my 
own,  with  an  exit  opening  on  the  staircase.  The 
other  flats  were  empty.  The  Szigligetis  flitted 
during  the  summer  to  the  suburbs  of  Budac  Thus 
I  had  the  whole  of  the  first  floor  of  the  new  house 
at  my  disposal,  to  my  great  satisfaction,  for  I  could 
work  away  quite  undisturbed.  In  the  autumn, 
however,  the  Szigligetis  returned,  and  the  adjoining 
flats  at  the  same  time  got  new  tenants.  The  very 
next  night  I  discovered,  to  my  horror,  with  whom 
I  was  living  under  the  same  roof.  It  was  the  wife 
of  the  possessor  of  a  flower-garden,  who  also  kept 
a  dancing  academy.  What  afternoons,  what  nights 
I  passed ! 

At  last  I  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  I  implored 
Szigligeti  to  appeal  most  energetically  to  the  au- 
thorities against  the  nuisance.  Szigligeti  fully 
shared  my  indignation  himself,  so  he  posted  oflf  at 
once  to  the  Town  Captain  to  lay  his  complaint. 

"Sir,"  said  he, "  the  proprietress  of  a  flower-garden 
has  settled  down  in  my  immediate  neighbourhood." 
"  But  flowers  must  bloom  somewhere,  I  suppose  ?  " 
"  But  the  people  dance  the  livelong  night." 
"  That  doesn't  injure  any  one,  surely  ?  " 
"  But  after  dancing  they  sit  down  to  rest." 
"  That  is  very  natural." 


OLYMPIAN  STRIVINGS  69 

"But  they  take  their  rest  and  recreation  very 
noisily." 

The  Town  Captain  shrugged  his  shoulders,  he 
could  do  nothing  in  the  matter;  it  was  a  ticklish 
business  to  interfere  in ;  it  did  not  fall  within  his 
jurisdiction,  etc.,  etc. 

But  when,  finally,  Szigligeti  said :  "  My  lodger, 
the  correspondent  of  the  Jelenkor^  cannot  sleep  all 
night  because  of  them,"  then,  indeed,  the  Town 
Captain  suddenly  leaped  from  his  chair,  set  all  his 
myrmidons  in  motion,  and  by  the  next  day  the 
whole  flower-garden  and  dancing  academy  was 
transferred  to  another  forcing  bed.  Such  in  those 
days  was  the  authority  of  a  newspaper  correspon- 
dent. ...  I  was  therefore  no  longer  a  mere 
cipher.  I  was  a  something  now.  And,  more  than 
that,  I  was  a  somebody  also.  For  it  was  in  those 
days  that  I  passed  my  legal  examination,  and 
became  a  certificated  lawyer  in  the  ordinary  and 
commercial  courts.  My  diploma,  indeed,  was  not 
prceclarus,  but  at  any  rate  it  was  laudihilis.  The 
oral  rigorosum  I  passed  through  brilliantly,  but  in 
the  scripturistik  (there's  a  fine  dog  Latin  word  for 
you!)  my  Hungarian  style  was  not  considered  satis- 
factory. 

The  publication  of  my  legal  diploma  in  the 
county  court  was  a  sufficiently  dignified  excuse 
for  a  visit  to  my  native  town.  With  head  erect 
I  could  now  enter  the  presence  of  the  fairy  damsel 
with  the  sparkling  "  eyes  like  the  sea." 


CHAPTER  VI 

AN  ODD  DUEL — THE  FATEFUL  LETTER  J. — I  ALSO 
BECOME  A  PETEB  GYUEICZA 

Tjl  MERICUS  VAHOT  had  discovered  a  youthful 
-""-^  humorist  whom  he  attached  to  the  staff  of  his 
newspaper.  Ultimately  he  became  a  most  eminent 
writer,  but  at  first  he  was  quite  a  savage  genius. 
He  knew  no  languages  but  Hungarian  and  Latin. 
He  was  really  after  all  a  very  worthy  young  fellow. 
He,  too,  took  his  place  amongst  us  at  the,  "  Table  of 
Public  Opinion,"  and  even  brought  a  pair  of  friends 
with  him.  One  of  the  friends  was  a  wry-shouldered 
critic,  who  judged  the  stage  from  a  philological 
point  of  view,  but  the  other  was  Muki  Bagotay. 
He  was  not  a  writer,  but  a  mere  figure  head.  As, 
however,  he  drank  with  us,  he  considered  himself 
as  one  of  us. 

One  afternoon  the  humorist  and  Muki  fell  out. 
Muki  had  thought  good  to  boast  of  a  certain  con- 
quest of  his,  the  humorist  had  made  a  joke  of  it ; 
a  squabble  ensued,  and  from  words  they  came  to 
blows.  I  was  not  there,  but  I  beard  all  about  it 
from  those  who  were.  There  could  not  be  a  doubt 
that  the  end  of  it  would  be  a  duel.    Late  in  the 

60 


AN  OLD  DUEL  61 

evening,  just  as  I  was  preparing  to  go  to  bed,  the 
wry-sb.ouldered  critic  rushed  into  my  room.  His 
face  was  even  more  portentous  than  usual. 

"I  have  to  communicate  a  secret  to  you,  but  you 
must  give  me  your  word  as  a  gentleman  not  to  let 
the  matter  go  any  further." 

"  I  give  you  my  word  upon  it." 

"  Our  friend  is  going  to  fight  Muki  Bagotay  to- 
morrow, I  am  his  second." 

"  That's  all  right." 

"Would  you  be  so  good  as  to  lend  us  the 
weapons  ?  " 

"  My  friend,  I  only  possess  one  pistol,  and  that  is 
a  double-barrelled  one." 

"  That  will  just  do  !  " 

"  "What  the  deuce  ?  I  suppose  one  of  them  will 
fire  with  it  first,  and  if  he  does  not  hit  his  man  he'll 
hand  it  over  to  the  other,  and  he'll  fire  back  with 
it?" 

"  Precisely ! " 

The  crooked  critic  said  this  with  such  a  solemn 
face  that  it  was  impossible  not  to  believe  him.  Thi:- 
was  quite  a  novel  mode  ot  duelling,  and  not  a  bad 
idea  either. 

Early  next  morning,  before  I  had  got  up,  the 
second  again  appeared  before  me.  He  brought  back 
the  fatal  pistol. 

"  It  is  over,"  said  he,  with  mournful  dignity. 

'•What  was  the  result?" 

"  Our  poor  friend  was  hit  1  '* 


62  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  Dangerously  ?  " 

"  The  bullet  penetrated  his  arm.  But  it  has  been 
taken  out  now." 

The  news  excited  all  my  sympathy. 

I  threw  on  my  clothes  and  made  my  way  to  the 
Pillwax  coffee-house.  I  found  my  good  friends 
already  at  the  "  Table  of  Public  Opinion,"  and  every 
one  of  them  shared  my  compassion.  The  critic 
related  the  mournful  details  to  us. 

All  at  once  two  of  our  comrades,  Degre  and 
Lauka,  rushed  excitedly  into  the  coffee-house. 
"  The  whole  duel  was  a  swindle ! "  they  cried. 
"  There  was  no  harm  done  to  any  one.  He  was  not 
even  wounded.  He  is  lying  in  bed  with  his  arm 
tied  up,  and  a  bloody  shirt ;  they  are  giving 
him  ice  cataplasms — the  whole  thing  is  a  pure 
farce !  " 

The  second,  however,  solemnly  maintained  that 
his  principal  had  been  wounded. 

"  We  will  convince  ourselves  of  the  fact." 

"Surely  you  would  not  want  them  to  tear  the 
bandages  from  the  gaping  wound  ? "  This  I  also 
resolutely  opposed,  and,  taking  the  part  of  my 
colleague,  devised  another  expedient. 

"  Who  was  the  doctor  who  bound  up  the  wound  ?  " 

The  critic  mentioned  the  doctor's  name, 

"  We'll  go  to  the  doctor,  then." 

Dr.  K y  was  a  worthy,  honest,  high-spirited 

fellow,  who  well  deserved  the  public  respect. 

We  rushed  upon  him  in  a  body. 


AN  OLD  DUEL  68 

"  Tell  us,  now,"  we  said,  "  is  there  a  wound  on 
the  arm  of  the  humorist  ?  " 

"  There  is,"  replied  the  doctor. 

"  Is  it  true  that  you  took  a  bullet  out  of  it  ?  " 

"  It  is  true." 

"  On  your  professional  reputation  ?  " 

"  On  my  professional  reputation." 

With  that  my  friends  were  bound  to  be  satisfied. 
No  further  inquiries  could  be  made. 

When,  however,  my  two  friends  had  withdrawn, 
I  remained  behind  with  the  doctor,  and  I  said  to 
him,  "  My  dear  doctor,  you  have  answered  the 
question,  did  you  take  a  bullet  out  of  our  friend's 
arm?  but  now  answer  me  this  question,  who  put 
that  buUet  in  ?  " 

"  Egad  !  egad  !  egad  !  "  growled  the  doctor,  "  you 
imaginative  people  are  really  sad  scamps !  " 

The  fact  was  that  our  humorist  and  Muki  Bagotay 
had  fought  an  American  duel :  whoever  drew  the 
black  ball  had — well,  not  to  die,  but   to  get  Dr. 

K y  to  make  a  wound  in  his  arm.     The  doctor, 

with  his  lancet,  made  an  incision  about  two  centi- 
metres in  length  and  four  millemetres  in  depth,  in 
the  epidermis  just  below  the  biceps ;  into  this  wound 
he  insinuated  a  bullet,  then  took  it  out,  sewed  up 
the  wound,  and  so  wounded  honour  was  amply 
satisfied.  And  I'll  not  say  a  single  word  against 
this  being  the  most  correct  mode  of  procedure 
imaginable. 

Then  I  went  home  to  my  native  town,  ostensibly 


64  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

to  advertise  my  legal  diploma,  but  really  to  look 
once  more  upon  her  from  whom  I  had  been  so  long 
absent. 

I  was  very  well  received  in  the  bosom  of  my 
family ;  the  whole  clan  came  together  for  dinner 
at  my  mother's,  and  for  supper  at  the  house  of  my 
brother-in-law,  Francis  Valy.  The  two  Calvinist 
ministers  were  also  invited,  and  one  of  them  toasted 
me  as  "  the  ward  of  one  guardian  and  the  guardian 
of  two  wards  "  (an  allusion  to  my  father's  profession 
and  my  new  drama,  The  Two  Wards) ;  it  was  the 
first  toast  that  made  me  blush. 

The  next  day  was  the  meeting  of  the  county 
board,  at  the  end  of  which,  with  open  doors,  my 
diploma  was  promulgated.  On  that  self-same  day 
my  dear  mother  gave  me  my  father's  silver-mounted 
sword,  and  the  cornelian  signet-ring,  with  the  old 
family  crest  engraved  upon  it,  which  he  used  to 
wear.  Democrat  as  I  am,  I  frankly  confess  that  to 
me  there  was  a  soul-steeling  thought  in  the  reflec- 
tion that  with  this  sword  my  worthy  ancestors, 
who  were  much  better  men  than  myself,  had  de- 
fended their  nation,  country,  laws,  and  constitution 
of  yore,  and  that  this  signet-ring  had  put  the  seal 
upon  their  covenanted  rights  for  all  time.  Accord- 
ing to  ancient  custom,  the  sword  and  signet-ring 
of  the  father  belonged  of  right  to  the  younger 
son ;  my  father  had  given  my  elder  brother  a  ring 
and  sword  of  his  own  when  he  brought  home  his 
diploma. 


THE  FA  TEFUL  LETTER  J  65 

After  that,  I  had  to  pay  visits  of  ceremony  to  the 
county  and  municipal  authorities ;  I  called  upon 
my  principal  also,  and  a  pretty  little  girl  was  there 
whose  features  I  had  perpetuated  in  a  portrait ;  she 
still  went  to  the  convent  school.  This  little  girl,  I 
may  add,  never  had  her  romance ;  she  died  young, 
and  thus  found  her  true  bliss. 

It  was  only  in  the  afternoon  that  I  was  able  to 
get  to  Bessy's. 

Among  all  earthly  joys,  is  there  one  that  can  be 
compared  with  that  heart-throbbing  which  a  young 
man  feels  when  he  again  approaches,  after  a  long 
absence,  the  woman  whom  he  idolises,  with  the 
thought  that  she  also  has  been  dreaming  of  him  all 
the  time  ?  It  is  true  that  our  parting  had  been 
somewhat  abrupt,  and  a  hill  of  thorns  had  risen  up 
between  us  perhaps  in  consequence;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  my  absence  had  had  a  definite,  deliber- 
ate aim — I  went  to  win  for  myself  name  and  fame, 
and  a  worldly  position.  And  lo !  but  six  months 
had  passed  and  all  this  was  already  accomplished. 
I  was  an  author.  I  had  the  right  to  speak  of  myself 
in  the  plural  "  we,"  like  a  king ;  nay,  I  had  even 
a  hetier  right,  for  the  king^an  only  lay  the  peasantry 
under  contribution,  but  I  could  make  the  gentry 
pay  up  as  well,  and  that  right  was  also  "  Dei  gratia.'^ 
I  fancied  the  whole  world  was  mine,  and  that 
triumphs  would  go  before  and  follow  after  me 
whithersoever  I  went. 

I  was  dressed  according  to  the  latest  fashion, 

w 


66  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

The  famous  firm  of  tailors,  "Martinek  and  "Kor- 
sinek,"  had  performed  a  masterpiece  upon  me :  my 
feet  were  shod  with  varnished  dress-shoes,  I  had  a 
whale-bone  cane  with  a  gold-headed  handle,  I  wore 
Jaquemar  gloves.  I  no  longer  singed  my  hair  with 
heated  hair-tongs  as  in  the  days  when  I  was  a  pat- 
varist,  but  a  hairdresser  had  twisted  it  into  ringlets ; 
and  now,  too,  I  had  a  sprucely  twisted  moustache 
and  a  beard. 

I  really  must  make  the  most  of  all  these  glories 
to  emphasize  the  dramatic  climax. 

I  found  Bsssy's  mother  and  her  aunt  in  the  well- 
known  reception  room;  the  companion  was  on  a 
visit  to  her  relations.  After  the  ceremonial  kissing 
of  hands,  my  first  question  was,  "  And  Miss  Bessy  ?  " 

"  She  is  in  her  own  room,  yonder." 

"  May  I  go  there  ?  " 

"  Oh,  by  all  means ! " 

It  was  that  memorable  room  in  which  I  had 
painted  her  portrait. 

The  girl  was  alone,  seated  by  her  little  table,  and 
was  bending  over  her  embroidery  frame.  She 
really  must  have  been  very  much  absorbed  in  her 
work,  as  otherwise  she  -must  certain!}'-  have  seen 
through  the  window  that  I  was  coming  to  her.  It 
was  a  sort  of  pearl  embroidery  that  she  was  busy 
over,  meant  apparently  for  the  cover  of  a  portfoHo. 
On  perceiving  me  enter,  she  hastily  covered  it  with 
her  handkerchief,  but  for  all  that,  my  eyes  caught 
a  momentary  glimpse  of  a  large  letter  "  J."  on  the 


THE  FATEFUL  LETTER  J  67 

embroidery.  "What  else  could  it  be  but  the  initial 
letter  of  my  surname?  I  was  confirmed  in  this 
belief  by  the  circumstance  that  on  the  same  little 
table  stood  my  portrait  of  her  on  a  gorgeous  stand. 

She  greeted  me  kindly,  but  I  could  detect  a  cer- 
tain hostile  sentiment  in  her  smile.  It  is  only  in 
the  eyes  that  one  can  read  such  things,  and  practised 
swordsmen  always  can  tell  from  the  expression  of 
their  opponents'  eyes  how  they  are  going  to  lunge. 

She  questioned  me  about  everything,  and  I  re- 
plied with  gi'eat  precision ;  but  these  questions  and 
answers  were  mere  feints  :  the  points  of  the  swords 
were  so  far  only  twirling  around  each  other. 

All  at  once  she  lunged  straight  at  my  head  with 
her  sword. 

"And  pray  what  is  the  amiable  little  sapling  doing?'" 

In  my  first  amazement  I  absolutely  did  not  know 
what  she  v.as  alluding  to. 

"  What  sapling  ?  " 

"  Why,  that  darling  little  stage  fairy,  of  course, 
who  kindled  you  to  such  enthusiasm." 

So  it  turned  up  again  now  !  Even  here  they  cas* 
it  in  my  teeth !  Was  it  not  enough  to  have  smarted 
once  in  my  life  for  pretty  Lilla's  sake  ?  In  vain  did 
I  assure  her  that  never  in  my  life  had  I  seen  th  ■ 
young  artiste  except  on  the  stage  ;  that  there  indeerl 
she  had  earned  my  admiration,  but  that  I  had  never 
felt  any  tender  sentiment  either  for  her  or  for  any 
other  mortal  maiden  in  the  whole  of  Buda-Pest. 

"  Let  that    go,   then !  "    said  Bessy   mockingly. 


68  EYES  UKE  THE  SEA 

"  We  are  well  informed  of  everything  that  goes  on. 
How  about  your  landlord's  three  pretty  daughters?  " 

"  Pardon  me,  but  the  eldest  of  them  is  only  nine 
years  old." 

"  And  your  gay  neighbours,  the  flower-garden 
ladies?" 

Well,  this  was  simply  appalling.  How  could  I 
tell  her  the  whole  story  ?  And  yet  I  was  the  very 
person  who  had  got  them  removed. 

"  Whom  the  Town  Captain  was  forced  to  interfere 
with  ?  Oh,  we  know  all  about  it !  My  little  finger 
has  whispered  it  to  me." 

I  was  quite  confused.  Who  could  have  been 
tittle-tattling  about  me  so  ? 

And  all  the  time  her  eyes  were  flashing  sparks  at 
me ! 

But  I  was  not  to  remain  in  doubt  long.  A  new 
visitor  arrived,  his  voice  was  already  heard  in  the 
ante-chamber.     It  was  Muki  Bagotay. 

It  was  plain  to  me  now  that  it  was  he  who  had 
whispered  all  these  things  to  Bessy. 

Into  the  room  he  rushed.  He  certainly  was  in- 
famously handsome.  My  head  of  curls  was  quite 
dwarfed  by  his.  His  dress  was  much  more  fashion- 
able than  mine.  And  what  a  cocksure  air  he  had  ! 
I  dared  not  so  much  as  press  Bessy's  hand,  while  he 
knelt  down  before  her  and  laid  his  hat — together 
with  his  heart — at  her  feet. 

"  Go  away  with  you — don't  be  silly !  "  said  Bessy, 
by  way  of  correction,  pointing  at  me. 


THE  FA  TEFUL  LETTER  J  69 

"Your  servant,  comrade,"  cried  Muki,  becoming 
aware  of  my  presence. 

Tiien  he  occupied  himself  with  me  no  more,  but 
turned  towards  Bessy  and  tried  to  remove  the  hand- 
kerchief from  the  embroidery,  which  attempt  Bessy 
resisted  with  all  her  might. 

"  It's  mine,  after  all,  you  know,"  insisted  Muki. 

"  Then  wait  your  turn,  and  you  shall  have  it  on 
your  birthday." 

His  birthday!  A  thought  flashed  through  my 
brain.  Muki's  name  was  Janos.  That  initial  letter 
was  Ms^  not  mine 

A  dramatic  climax.  How  instantly  Muki  became 
the  sensible  fellow  and  I  the  blockhead  !  At  that 
moment  I  must  have  cut  a  somewhat  queer  figure 
the  very  type  of  gaping  confusion. 

By  way  of  explanation  Muki  seized  Bessy's  hand 
and  raised  it  to  his  lips,  and  said  to  me  as  a  matter 
of  form,  "Bessy  is  my  betrothed." 

And  it  was  for  this,  then,  that  all  these  Sar- 
danapalian  accusations  had  been  piled  upon  my 
head.  The  sapling  of  the  stage,  the  flower-garden, 
and  my  landlord's  young  ladies  were  the  golden 
bridge  for  a  retreat. 

It  was  only  then  that  I  hit  upon  more  sensible 
ideas  and  hastened  to  congratulate  them. 

And  now  I  made  it  a  point  to  remain  where  I 
was.  They  shall  see  that  the  whole  matter  is  of 
the  utmost  indifference  to  me. 

"  You  know,  I  suppose,"  said  Muki,  "  what  was 
the  cause  of  my  last  duel?" 


70  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  That  famous  duel  of  yours,  eh  ?" 

"  Yes,  it  was  pretty  famous,  I  think.  That  poor 
young  fellow  whom  I  shot  was  a  worthy  comrade, 
but  had  he  been  my  bom  brother  I  would  have 
shot  him  for  his  disrespectful  allusions  to  my  bride." 

"  Go  along  with  you,  you  bloodthirsty  man ! " 
cried  Bessy,  with  coquettish  self-satisfaction. 

And  he  had  the  cheek  to  say  all  this  before  me 
who  knew  the  whole  history  of  the  duel !  How 
ridiculous  I  could  have  made  him  look,  if  I  had 
told  how  it  had  happened !  But  do  it  I  wouldn't, 
because  I  felt  that  they  were  a  worthy  pair.  I 
merely  said :  "  I  must  admit,  friend  Muki,  that  in 
the  way  of  imagination  you  are  much  greater  than  I." 

"  And  greater  in  other  things  also,"  said  Muki, 
half  drawing  his  sword. 

"We'll  see  about  that  one  of  these  days  in  the 
fencing-school. ' ' 

"  What !  That  swindling  fencing  !  Wrestling  is 
the  thing  to  test  a  man's  mettle.  That  fashionable 
gymnastic  rubbish  is  a  mere  farce.  I  should  like 
to  see  a  fellow  do  what  I  can  do  when  I  go  out 
on  my  puszta.  ^  I  have  a  stout  gulgdsy  ^  there,  Peter 
Gyuricza,  with  whom  I  am  wont  to  wrestle.  A 
stalwart  fellow,  hard  as  a  stone;  he  can  keep  the 
upper  hand  over  a  hundred  steers.  Twice  out  of 
three  bouts  have  I  floored  Peter  Gyuricza,  and  Peter 
Q-yuricza  has  only  floored  me  once." 

*  The  Hungarian  steppe  or  great  plain. 

*  Neat-herd,  pecnliac  to  Hungary. 


/  ALSO  BECOME  A   GYURICZA  71 

"  A  pretty  pastime,  certainly." 

"  It  is  not  to  be  learnt  by  pen-scribbling  or  brush- 
daubing,  anyhow." 

That  I  had  to  let  pass,  for  there's  no  getting  over 
the  truth.  It  is  not  only  true  that  I  was  no  Samson, 
but  it  is  also  true  that,  compared  with  a  hundred 
oxen,  my  poor  Pegasus  was  but  a  sorry  beast  of 
draught.  But  Muki  Bagotay  was  not  even  content 
with  this  triumph,  he  wanted  to  absolutely  trample 
me  beneath  his  feet ;  and  as  if  he  had  only  just 
observed  for  the  first  time  the  picture  of  Bessy 
painted  by  me,  he  chose  to  make  that  the  bone  of 
contention. 

"  Meanwhile,  till  I  possess  the  original,  I  appro- 
priate this  picture." 

Bessy  protested.  "  No,  no,  I  will  not  part  with 
that." 

But  Muki  thereupon  took  the  picture  from  the 
table  and  held  it  aloft,  so  that  Bessy  could  not  get 
it  out  of  his  hand.  She  begged,  implored,  raved, 
but  Muki  only  laughed  and  said  he  meant  to  stick 
to  the  picture. 

It  was  then  that  my  ill-humour  got  the  better 
of  me. 

"Sir,"  said  I,  laying  my  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
"  put  down  that  portrait !  I  did  not  paint  it  for 
you." 

How  scornfully  he  looked  at  me  over  his  shoulder ! 
"  You  would  needs  try  conclusions  with  me — yoM, 
a  mere  poet ! " 


72  EYES  UKE  THE  SEA 

And  he  flung  himself  upon  me  with  the  pious 
resolve  of  forcing  me  out  of  Bessy's  boudoir  into 
the  ante-chamber.  When  he  saw  that  I  resisted, 
he  threw  both  his  arms  round  my  body.  I  also 
hugged  him,  and  to  work  we  went  straightway. 

Mulvi  was  furious  because  I  would  not  allow  my 
frame  to  be  smashed  so  easily.  Bossy  began  shriek- 
ing, and  took  refuge  in  the  bow  window.  Suddenly 
I  rallied  all  my  strength  and  pitched  Muki  on  to 
the  sofa  with  such  violence  that  the  back  of  it 
cracked  and  came  off. 

"  I  also  am  a  Peter  Gyuricza  !"  I  cried. 

I  would  not  have  exchanged  that  triumph  for  all 
the  glory  in  the  world. 

At  the  noise  of  this  great  scuffle,  the  mother  and 
the  aunt  rushed  into  the  room,  and  great  was  their 
indignation  when  they  saw  me  kneeling  on  Muki's 
breast. 

"  Let  me  get  up,  fellow  !  "  said  my  antagonist. 

All  that  I  wanted  to  do  was  to  take  the  portrait 
from  the  hands  of  its  unlawful  possessor.  Mean- 
while the  poor  portrait  had  -got  tembly  mauled. 
During  the  struggle  it  had  fallen  to  the  ground, 
and  the  pair  of  us  had  left  the  impression  of  our 
heels  upon  it.  Bessy  burst  into  tears  when  she 
saw  the  wreckage  of  her  own  portrait,  but  her 
mother  lamented  over  the  broken  sofa. 

I  comforted  Bessy  with  the  assurance  that  I 
would  make  the  damaged  portrait  all  right  again 
—there  were  special  colours  for  that. 


1  ALSO  BECOME  A   GYURICZA  73 

"  But  she  must  not  sit  again,"  hastily  intervened 
her  mother.  She  was  afraid  I  should  begin  coming 
to  the  house  again  and  spoil  the  good  match. 

"And  I  haven't  got  that  dress  either,"  said 
Bessy. 

It  certainly  was  a  pretty  dress.  Would  that  she 
had  never  had  it ! 

I  assured  them,  however,  that  I  would  be  able  to 
put  the  picture  to  rights  at  home,  all  by  myself. 
And  with  that  I  put  it  in  my  pocket.  I  never 
went  back  there  again. 

The  mother  and  the  aunt  ostentatiously  occupied 
themselves  with  Muki,  expressing  all  the  time  their 
regretful  sympathy,  at  which  he  was  beside  himself 
for  fury. 

I  beat  a  retreat  without  any  attempt  to  say  good- 
bye. But  Bessy  ran  after  me,  and,  overtaking  me 
in  the  doorway,  seized  my  hand,  and  whispered  in 
an  ardent  voice,  "  You'll  put  rne  to  rights,  won't 
you?" 

"  The  portrait  f  oh  yes ! " 

An  hour  afterwards  1  was  sitting  on  the  steamer 
and  gazing  at  the  lingering  smoke  which  hid  my 
native  town  from  my  eyes.  It  was  just  as  if  I  were 
returning  from  a  funeral. 


CHAPTER  Vn 

WELTSCHMEEZ   CONDITIONS* — "  BEMAIN   OE  PLY  !  ** 

TT7HEN  I  got  back  to  Pest,  I  found  two  letters 
^  '  awaiting  me  on  my  writing-table,  one  from 
Tony  Varady,  inviting  me  to  stand  godfather  to  his 
new-bom  son,  and  the  other  from  Petofi,  informing 
me  that  he  had  just  been  married  to  Julia  Szendrey, 
and  that  they  were  having  very  happy  days  at 
Teleky's  Castle,  Kolto.  Both  of  these  friends  were 
poor  fellows,  like  myself ;  and  the  ladies  who  had 
chosen  to  be  their  companions  through  hfe  were 
girls  belonging  to  wealthy,  eminent  families,  accus- 
tomed to  luxury  and  splendour,  surrounded  by  obse- 
quious wooers,  and  their  mothers  loved  them  as  the 
apples  of  their  eyes.  Their  families  opposed  the 
marriages,  and  the  enamoured  young  ladies,  handi- 
capped as  they  were  by  the  weight  of  their  parents' 
refusal,  followed  their  beloveds  notwithstanding. 

Then  true  love  is  no  dream  after  all,  but  pure 
gold.  And  yet  when  I  seek  this  pure  gold  they 
call  me  a  crazy  alchemist ! 

And  now  Petofi  begged  me  by  letter  to  seek  out 

*  Vildg  fajd/dmas  allapotok.  There  is  no  English  equiva- 
lent of  Vildg  fdjdalmas. 

74 


WELTSCHMERZ  CONDITIONS  75 

a  convenient  lodging  for  him,  where  they  and  I 
could  live  together.  That  a  newly- married  bride- 
groom should  invite  his  faithful  bachelor  comrade 
to  be  a  fellow-lodger  with  him  is  a  fact  which 
belongs  to  the  realm  of  fairy  tales. 

I  immediately  hunted  up  in  Tobacco  Street  a  nice 
first-floor-aparlment,^  consisting  of  three  chambers 
and  their  domestic  offices;  the  first  room  was  for 
the  Petofis,  the  second  for  me,  while  the  inter- 
mediate one  was  to  be  a  common  dining-room,  and 
there  were  separate  entrances  for  each  of  us. 

The  young  couple  came  in  during  the  autumn; 
they  kept  one  maid,  and  I  had  an  old  servant.  We 
had  both  very  primitive  furniture.  Mrs.  Petofi  had 
left  her  father's  house  without  a  dowry ;  she  had 
not  so  much  as  a  fashionable  hat  to  bless  herself 
w^ith ;  she  had  sewed  herself  together  a  sort  of  head- 
dress of  her  own  invention,  which  she  never  wore. 
Her  hair  was  cut  short,  so  that  she  looked  like  a 
little  boy.  They  had  nothing,  and  yet  they  were 
very  happy !  Julia's  sole  amusement  was  to  learn 
English  from  Petofi,  and  afterwards,  at  dinner 
(which  was  sent  in  from  "  The  Eagle  "),  we  spoke 
English,  and  laughed  at  each  other's  blunders.  And 
I  had  to  be  a  witness  of  their  bliss  every  day  ! 

It  was  just  as  if  one  were  to  season  hell  with 
piquant  pepper. 

Just  about  this  time  there  appeared  in  Eletkepeh 
some  very  ordinary  verses  entitled  "  Word-Echoes," 
*  Used  here  in  the  French  sense  of  a  suite  of  rooms. 


76  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

by  one  "  Aggteleki,'' '  ostensibly  addressed  to  a 
certain  actress.  I  am  now  able  to  confess  that  / 
was  the  author  of  those  verses.  But  for  all  that 
(though  the  verses  were  not  so  bad)  I  solemnly  for- 
bid any  one  at  any  time  to  include  these  verses 
among  my  works,  for  even  now,  forty  years  after 
the  event,  I  am  not  such  an  old,  decrepit,  suicidally 
inclined  fellow  as  Aggteleki  was. 

But,  indeed,  ever}^  one  of  the  works  that  I  wrote 
at  that  period  breathe  the  same  bitter  tone.  The 
paroxysms  of  a  crushed  spirit,  the  dreamy  phantoms 
of  a  diseased  imagination,  self-contempt,  a  moon- 
sick  view  of  the  world  in  general,  characterise 
all  my  tales  belonging  to  that  period.  And  yet 
they  pleased  people  then.  I  even  had  imitators. 
I  turned  Petofi  himself  away  from  the  right  path. 
He  himself  confessed  that  his  novel  entitled  "  Hoher 
Kotele  "  ^  was  written  under  the  influence  of  my 
"  Nyomarek  naploja,"  ^  a  literary  abortion. 

Who  knows  whither  I  should  have  got  to  with 
my  tower  of  Babel,  had  not  a  healthy  earthquake 
brought  it  to  the  ground  ? 

One  day  Petofi  caught  me  in  the  act  of  touching 
up  Bessy's  portrait.  He  saw  from  my  eyes  that 
I  had  been  weeping.  I  tried  to  hide  it,  for  I  was 
a  bit  ashamed. 


»  Aged  Teleki. 

*  "The  Hangman's  Rope."     It  certainly  is  a  wretched 
performance. — Tr. 
»  "  The  Cripple's  Diary." 


WELTSCHMERZ   CONDITIONS  71 

"  It  is  well  that  it  is  so^  my  son"  said  he  on  that 
occasion  •  "  e^  is  men  who  are  unhappy  that  the  world 
wants  now" 

A  memorable  saying ! 

It  was  in  those  days  that  he  wrote  "  I  dream,  I 
dream  of  bloody  days,"  and  "  My  Songs,"  with  this 
final  strophe,  all  blood  and  fire : — 

"  Wherefore  doth  this  race  of  thralls  endure  it  ? 
Wherefore  rise  not?    Rend  your  chains  and  cure  it ! 
Do  ye  wait,  forsooth !  till  God's  good  pleasure 
Rusts  them  off,  and  makes  them  drop  at  leisure  ?  " 

And  then  he  would  lead  me  into  his  room.  On 
the  walls  there,  in  handsome  frames,  hung  the  por- 
traits of  the  chiefs  of  the  French  Revolution — this 
was  his  only  luxury — Danton,  Robespierre,  Camille 
Desmoulins,  Saint- Juste,  Madame  Roland.  There, 
too,  the  parts  we  were  to  play  were  distributed  ; 
Saint-Juste  was  designed  for  me,  Madame  Roland 
for  Julia.  And  then  we  spoke  of  "  the  bloody  days." 
They  were  to  be  no  mere  dream,  we  were  to  see 
them  with  our  eyes  wide  open.  And  we  were  to 
be  among  the  first  to  feel  them. 

A  healthy-minded  man  would  have  been  ready 
after  such  words  as  these  to  have  left  the  house  by 
jumping  out  of  the  window  ;  but  they  had  a  charm 
for  me.  It  suited  my  peculiar  frame  of  mind  just 
then  to  set  on  fire  the  Dejanira  robe  that  was  about 
me,  and  then  rush  out  among  the  people  and  set 
them  ou  fire  also. 

"  Man's  fate  is  woman  !  " 


78  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

Had  that  yotmg  lady  the  last  time  I  held  her 
hand  in  mine  said  "  Stay !  "  I  should  certainly  have 
remained.  I  should  have  crept  into  my  little  nook 
of  bliss  and  never  have  gazed  after  the  moonshine 
of  fame.  In  that  case  I  should  now  perhaps  have 
been  one  of  the  judicial  assessors  at  the  Royal 
Courts,  and  have  joined  heartily  in  the  laugh  when 
one  or  other  of  my  colleagues  at  the  end  of  a  friendly 
banquet  might  take  it  into  his  head  to  quote  some 
monstrous  sentences  out  of  my  earliest  romance,  an 
imperfect  copy  of  which  turns  up  now  and  then 
as  a  literary  curiosity  among  other  antiquarian 
rubbish. 

This  is  what  would  have  happened  if  the  young 
lady  had  said  "  Stay !  " 

But  if  that  young  lady  had  said  "  Fly !  "  then  I 
should  have  flown  like  the  rest  after  the  falling 
stars.  And,  indeed,  of  those  who  stood  with  me  on 
the  11th  March  ^  before  the  mob  on  the  balcony 
of  the  town-hall  to  announce  "  This  is  the  day  of 
national  liberty !  "  of  those  my  youthful-visaged, 
warm-hearted  comrades,  three  have  perished  in 
defence  of  that  word  "  Liberty  "  then  pronounced : 
those  three  names  are  "Petofi,"^  "  Vasvary," 
"  Bozzai."     And   certainly,  in  that   case,  the  four 

'  When  the  Hungarian  revolution  of  1848  began. 

*  Petofi  was  most  probably  killed  at  the  battle  of  Segesvar 
in  July,  1849 ;  at  any  rate  he  was  never  seen  or  heard  of 
afterwards.  He  was  only  twenty-seven,  and  in  him  the 
world  lost  one  of  its  great  lyric  poets. 


^'REMAIN  OR  FLY!"*  7d 

ounces  of  lead,  or  the  cossack's  lance,  or  the  grenade 
splinter  which  killed  them,  might  have  sufficed  for 
me  also — that  is,  of  course,  if  that  young  lady  had 
said  "  Fly ! "  Fate,  in  fact,  confronted  me  with 
this  paradox — "  Either  live  and  be  forgotten,  or  be 
remembered  as  one  who  died  young ! " 

"  Stay !  "  or  "  Fly  !  " 

Then  a  voice  said  to  me :  "  Go !  but  let  us  go 
together!" 

But  it  was  not  the  voice  of  the  lady  with  the 

eyes  like  the  sea. 

«  «  *  *  * 

One  morning  Petofi  rushed  into  my  room  roaring 
with  laughter. 

"  Ha  !  ha !  ha !  Do  you  want  to  laugh  ?  Just 
catch  hold  of  tliat  Ilonderii.''  And  into  ni}-  hands  he 
thrust  the  latest  number  of  the  opposition  paper. 

I  immediately  caught  sight  of  what  had  made 
him  laugh  so  much.  There  was  a  magnificent 
description  from  my  native  tov.n  of  the  wedding 
which  had  taken  place  between  Mr.  Janos  Nepomvik 
Bagotay  and  the  world-renowned  beauty — I  didn't 
trouble  to  look  at  the  name.  "  The  happy  paii' 
will  spend  their  honeymoon  at  Paris  !  " 

"Ha!  ha!  ha!  ha!" 


CHAPTER  Vm 

PETER  GYUBICZA's   CONSORT 

A  FTER  the  March  days,  I  quitted  the  Petofis  and 
■^-^  went  into  another  lodging.  I  had  got  on  so 
well  that  I  could  maintain  a  bachelor's  establishment, 
consisting  of  two  rooms,  'which  I  furnished  myself. 
Properly  speaking,  it  only  became  a  bachelor's 
establishment  when  I  entered,  for  before  I  took  it  it 
was  occupied  by  a  little  old  woman  who  kept  a 
registry  office  for  providing  respectable  families  with 
servants.  Every  one  knew  "Mami,"  as  she  was 
called.  ...  I  was  very  well  satisfied  with 
my  lodging,  which  quite  answered  all  my  require- 
ments. It  had  this  one  drawback,  however,  that  a 
whole  mob  of  cooks,  parlour-maids,  and  nursery- 
maids were  constantly  opening  my  door  under  the 
persuasion  that  I  could  provide  them  with  places, 
and  they  disturbed  my  work  terribly.  Besides,  this 
constant  flow  of  petticoats  towards  my  door  was 
sufficient  of  itself  to  bring  a  young  man  into  dis- 
repute. From  the  apartments  at  the  opposite  end 
of  the  corridor  it  was  possible  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
my  door,  and  it  was  just  in  these  very  apartments 
that  Rosa  Laborfalvy  lived.  I  was  afraid  that  some 
one  might  think  ill  of  me. 


PEIER  GYURICZA'S  CONTORT  81 

It  was  no  longer  the  Weltschmerz,  but  a  Privat- 
schmerz,^  that  afflicted  me. 

Again  I  had  app':ied  myself  to  portrait-painting. 
A  tall,  slender  girl  in  a  white  atlas  dress,  with 
large  black  eyes,  and  coal-black  ringlets  a  VAnglaise 
rolling  do-^Ti  to  her  shoulders,  was  standing  on  my 
easel ;  I  was  just  giving  it  the  finishing-touch,  I  had 
no  need  for  the  original  to  be  my  model.  I  have  the 
portrait  to  this  day. 

All  at  once  there  came  a  knocking  at  my  door 
"  Come  in ! "  The  door  opened,  and  in  came  a 
stylish  young  peasant  girl.  I  thought  as  much ; 
here  we  have  another  nursery-maid  in  search  of  a 
place. 

"  No,  no ;  go  away  !  The  registry-office  lady  does 
not  live  here  !  "  said  I  viciously,  for  I  was  busy 
with  my  portrait ;  and  perceiving  that  the  intruder 
did  not  retire  even  now,  I  bawled  out,  not  over 
gently :  "  In  Heaven's  name,  be  off,  my  dear  !  " 

At  this  the  peasant  girl  began  to  laugh.  Had  I 
not  heard  that  laughing  voice  somewhere  before  ? 
I  turned  round  and  looked  at  her,  and  the  more  I 
looked,  the  more  astonished  I  felt.     It  was  Bessy  ! 

She  wore  a  bright  red  gown  trimmed  with 
yellowish- green  flowers,  over  that  a  dark  blue, 
double-bordered  damask  apron,  and  a  black  silk 
bodice  with  puff  sleeves.  Above  the  bodice  w^as  a 
bib  with  beautifully  embroidered  palm  flowers  ;  on 
her  head  sat  a  cockscomb  like  Haube,  frilled  with 
PrivAt  fdjdalmas — private  anxiety. 


S^  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

starched  thread-lace;  on  her  arm  she  carried  a 
covered  basket  by  the  handle. 

Her  face  was  ruddy  and  bronzed  from  exposure 
to  the  sun,  and  a  sort  of  waggish  little  imp  was 
nestling  provocatively  in  her  smiling  features.  I 
couldn't  believe  my  own  eyes. 

"  What !  don't  you  know  me  ?  "  she  cried,  with  a 
merry  laugh.     "  I'm  Bessy !  " 

I  saw  that,  but  for  the  life  of  me  I  could  not  con- 
ceive what  her  object  was  in  coming  masquerading 
like  this  through  the  streets  of  Buda  in  broad  day- 
light. And  to  hit  upon  my  lodgings  of  all  places  in 
the  world ! 

"  Madame  de  Bagotay  ?  "  I  stammered  in  my  con- 
fusion. 

"  Oh,  I  am  no  longer  Madame  Bagotay,  but 
Madame  Peter  Gyuricza! " 

"  What  on  earth  do  you  mean  ?  Mrs.  Gryuricza ! 
The  wife  of  a  herdsman  ?  " 

My  amazement  was  so  genuine  that  Bessy  clapped 
her  hands  together  with  glee. 

"  Then  you  actually  don't  know  about  it  ?  They 
haven't  written  to  you  from  home  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  long  time  since  I  received  a  letter  from 
home." 

"  But  this  was  a  scandal  which  set  seven  counties 
in  an  uproar ;  there  has  been  nothing  like  it  since 
the  French  Revolution — and  you  call  yourself  the 
editor  of  a  newspaper  !  " 

"  My  paper  does  not  meddle  with  purely  family 
matters." 


PETER  GYURICZAS  CONSORT  83 

Bessy's  face  was  flushed,  and  slie  began  smootliing 
it  with  the  palms  of  both  hands  ;  she  thought, 
perhaps,  that  she  would  brush  the  tell-tale  blush 
away. 

"  I  have  heated  myself  a  little  on  that  steep  stair- 
case of  yours,"  she  said. 

She  blamed  the  staircase  for  that  flaming  face  of 
hers. 

It  then  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  only  be 
polite  to  ask  my  fair  visitor  to  take  a  seat.  I  offered' 
her  the  sofa. 

"  Oh,  dear,  no !  That's  only  for  ladies  !  This 
will  do  quite  well  enough  for  me."  And  with  that 
she  sat  down  on  my  trunk,  and  put  down  her 
basket  beside  it.  "  I  really  am  quite  tired.  I  have 
travelled  by  the  corn-boat  as  far  as  Vacz,*  and 
thence  I  have  walked  all  the  v^-v-y  to  Pest." 

"  But  you  could  have  gone  by  steamer  ?  " 

"But  my  master^  could  not  give  me  steamboat 
fare.  We  are  poor  people.  Look !  this  is  my  whole 
provision  for  the  journey." 

And  with  that  she  lifted  the  lid  of  the  basket,  and 
showed  me  what  was  inside  it  :  a  piece  of  black 
bread,  and  something  wrapped  up  in  greasy  paper — 
a  piece  of  cheese  possibly,  and  a  garlic-seasoned 
sausage. 

"  I  must  keep  this  for  my  return  journey." 

The  cynicism  of  the  proceeding  revolted  me. 

"  But  now,  if  you  please,  I  should  very  much  like 
^  Waitzen.  '  e.e.,  husband. 


84  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

to  know  what's  the  meaning  of  it  all.  Is  it  a 
practical  joke  you  are  playing  upon  me?  " 

"  Oh,  no !  certainly  not !  Pray  don't  suppose  that 
I  have  dressed  up  on  your  account.  I  am  now  a 
real  peasant  woman,  and  such  I  mean  to  remain. 
It  is  a  serious  thing  for  me,  I  can  tell  you,  and  I've 
come  to  you,  not  that  you  may  write  about  it  in 
3' our  paper,  but  that  you  may  give  me  advice." 

"  /  give  you  advice  ?  " 

"  Certainly !  Whom  else  should  I  ask  ?  The 
whole  world  condemns  and  tramples  upon  me,  and 
yet  I  have  oflfended  nobody,  not  even  in  thought. 
You  are  the  only  one  I  have  injured,  bitterly  injured, 
so  it  is  from  you  that  I  must  seek  protection." 

Woman's  logic  with  a  vengeance  !  I  stood  up  in 
front  of  her,  leaning  on  the  edge  of  the  table.  I 
was  contriving  all  the  time  to  prevent  her  from 
seeing  the  portrait  I  was  painting. 

"  I'll  begin  from  the  very  beginning,"  continued 
the  lady,  lowering  her  long  eyelashes.  "  I  was 
married.  So  much  you  know.  We  gave  a  splendid 
banquet.  The  whole  town,  half  the  county  was 
there.  I  fancy  they  described  it  in  the  newspapers ; 
and  why  shouldn't  they,  when  the  richest,  best- 
known,  and  most  handsome  girl  in  the  town  was 
married  to  the  ideal  cavalier  ?  The  lady  brought  a 
dowry  of  100,000  florins,  and  the  gentleman  con- 
veyed his  bride  to  his  ancestral  castle  in  a  carriage 
drawn  by  four  fiery  horses.  The  universal  envy 
was  a  more  piquant  grace  to  the  meal  than  the 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT.  86 

benediction  of  the  priest.  The  gentlemen  envied 
the  bridegroom,  and  the  ladies  envied  the  bride,  and 
every  one  was  forced  to  say  :  '  A  couple  made  for 
each  other.'  Alas  !  the  only  joy  which  remained 
in  my  heart  when  I  came  out  of  church  and  looked 
among  the  crowd  was  the  thought,  *  Ah !  you  all 
envy  me,  I  know ! ' 

"  "We  went  straight  from  church  to  my  husband's 
castle,"  continued  Bessy.  "  Thirty  carriages  escorted 
us.  I  counted  them.  A  splendid  banquet  followed. 
That  day  I  changed  my  dress  four  times.  The  fifth 
time  I  put  on  a  lace  negligi^  and  the  bridesmaids  led 
me  to  the  bridal  chamber.  This  room  was  a  verit- 
able masterpiece  of  upholstery.  A  Vienna  furnisher 
had  decorated  it  most  elaborately.  I  couldn't  sleep 
all  night.  The  voice  of  the  bass  viol  and  the 
clarionet  resounded  in  my  ears  from  the  banqueting- 
room,  and  the  noiso  and  uproar  of  the  guests  also. 
I  did  not  see  my  husband  till  the  morning.  Then 
the  guests  began  to  disperse.  Only  now  and  then 
did  a  cracked  and  piping  voice  mingle  with  the 
frantic  music  of  the  gipsies.  Then  it  was  that  my 
husband  appeared  before  me,  and  a  pitiable  object 
he  looked.  He  called  me  his  darling  little  sister, 
and  asked  me  if  I  could  tell  him  where  he  lived. 
Then  he  undressed  himself  on  the  sofa  and  talked 
such  nonsense  that  at  last  I  couldn't  help  laughing. 
'  Well,'  said  I  to  myself,  '  I  suppose  this  is  always 
the  way  when  they  take  leave  of  their  bachelordom.' 
Then  sleep  overcame  me  and  I  dreamed  the  silliest 


88  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

stuflf.  You  were  continually  in  my  dreams.  But 
why  mention  sucli  things  now  ?  " 

With  that  she  readjusted  the  kerchief  which  was 
tied  around  her  head-dress  and  proceeded  : — 

"  It  was  afternoon  when  I  awoke.  I  must  have 
wept  a  great  deal  in  my  dreams,  for  the  pillow  on 
which  my  head  lay  was  quite  wet.  My  husband 
was  no  longer  reposing  on  the  sofa,  but  sprawling 
on  the  floor  like  a  stuffed  frog.  It  cost  me  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  to  shake  him  into  life  again.  It  was 
a  still  greater  effort  to  make  him  understand  in 
what  part  of  the  world  he  was,  and  in  what  rela- 
tions we  stood  to  each  other  here  below.  After  that 
he  insisted  upon  my  crawling  with  him  under  the 
sofa,  and  when  I  wouldn't  hear  of  it,  he  began  to 
cry  like  a  child,  and  demanded  a  pistol  from  me 
that  he  might  blow  his  brains  out.  Then  I  brought 
a  washing-basin  and  washed  his  face  for  him,  and 
ducked  it  once  or  twice  in  cold  water.  He  roared 
like  a  baby  who  is  being  tubbed,  but  finally  re- 
covered his  spirits,  and  allowed  himself  to  be  raised 
from  the  ground.  Then  he  drank  out  of  the  water- 
jug,  and  his  eyes  opened,  but  they  were  as  tiny  as 
a  mole's,  and  I  now  perceived  for  the  first  time  that 
they  were  a  little  crooked." 

During  this  narration  Bessy  laughed  and  laughed 
again. 

"  What  a  sight  the  fellow  did  look !  his  hair  all 
rumpled,  his  moustache  all  askew,  his  clothes  soiled 
and  tousled.     He  had  to  be  dressed  aU  over  again. 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  87 

I  began  to  scold  him  a  little,  '  A  pretty  condition  of 
things,  I  must  say !  '  To  which  he  replied  that  I 
ought  to  have  seen  his  comrades,  Nusi,  and  Lenezi, 
and  Blekus,  and  how  tliey  had  been  settled.  They 
had  all  fallen  under  the  table,  and  he  had  remained 
the  victor.  And  he  yawned  so  much  as  he  told  me 
this,  that  I  had  to  beg  him  not  to  swallow  me.  At 
last  I  got  him  to  sit  down  on  a  chair  while  I  did  his 
hair  for  him,  and  he  meanwhile  howled  and  swore 
continually  that  every  single  hair  pained  him  as 
much  as  if  devils  were  tweaking  him  with  iron 
pincers." 

Again  the  lady  stopped  to  laugh. 

"  That's  quite  a  novel  state  of  things  to  you,  eh? 
A  person  who  becomes  the  bride  of  an  out-and-out 
dandy  must  expect  to  see  something  extraordinary. 
But  perhaps  there  was  nothing  extraordinary  in  it 
after  all.  And  now  the  banquet  was  resumed,  com- 
mencing with  a  pick-me-up.  I  presided  at  the  table 
with  a  turban  on  my  head.  All  our  guests  were 
still  drunk.  I  had  to  listen  to  very  peculiar  anec- 
dotes. At  such  times  the  best  man  is  he  who  can 
pay  the  new  bride  the  compliment  which  will  make 
her  blush  the  most.  The  lady  guests  had  all  de- 
parted in  the  morning,  and  had  come  to  bid  me 
good-bye  one  by  one.  They  all  wept  over  me — it  is 
the  usual  thing.  I  was  the  only  lady  left,  and  glad 
was  I  when  I  managed  to  get  away  from  the  gentle- 
men. I  think  that  they  had  been  awaitiug  my 
withdrawal ;    they  could    then   continue   their    in- 


88  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

terrupted  pastime.  Again  I  could  not  sleep ;  my 
head  was  throbbing.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life 
I  recognised  the  existence  of  the  headache,  that 
frightful  curse  of  feminine  nerves  which  I  had 
hitherto  always  put  down  to  affectation  or  imagina- 
tion. How  good  it  would  have  been  for  me  if  some 
one  had  laid  a  cool,  refreshing  hand  upon  my 
temples !  Perhaps  a  single  word  of  comfort  would 
have  relieved  my  pangs !  I  waited  for  it  in  vain. 
I  sent  a  message.  He  never  came  to  me.  Suddenly, 
while  an  oppressive  dream  was  benumbing  my  pain, 
a  hellish  uproar  awoke  me.  I  fancied  that  Pande- 
monium had  been  let  loose.  It  was  only  my 
husband,  but  he  had  brought  with  him  the  whole 
of  his  drunken  crew.  I  saw  before  me  a  whole 
legion  of  them,  with  guffawing,  sardonic,  lascivious, 
distorted  faces,  and  amongst  them  my  husband, 
with  the  grin  of  a  satyr  on  his  idiotic  face.  I  rose 
in  terror  from  my  bed,  cast  my  counterpane  around 
me,  fled  into  my  waiting-maid's  room,  and  barri- 
caded myself  behind  the  door.  There  he  thumped 
and  thundered  for  some  time.  I  threatened  to  throw 
myself  out  of  the  window  if  he  broke  in  by  force. 
Thereupon  some  of  his  comrades,  in  whom  a  little 
human  feeling  still  remained,  contrived  to  drag  him 
away,  though  not  without  difficulty.  Then  followed 
a  little  sulky  squabble  on  both  sides.  I  wouldn't 
leave  my  room  for  four-and- twenty  hours  ;  he 
wouldn't  come  to  me.  The  noise  that  he  made 
over  head  was  sufficient  evidence  to  me   that  he 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  89 

hadn't  committed  suicide  in  the  meantime.  The 
third  day  was  passed  by  the  bridal  guests  in  a  more 
profitable  occupation.  They  played  at  cards.  The 
table,  vigorously  punched  by  their  fists,  proclaimed 
their  handiwork  aloud.  It  was  like  blacksmiths' 
apprentices  pounding  iron  on  the  anvil  with  sledge- 
hammers. Only  in  the  morning  did  '  my  lord  and 
master '  turn  up  while  I  was  still  only  half-dressed. 
He  was  sober  then,  and,  what  is  more,  ill-tempered. 
His  loss  at  cards  was  mirrored  in  his  face  like  a 
guilty  conscience.  He  frankly  told  me  all  about  it. 
He  had  been  peppered  finely,  and  his  comrades  were 
vile  curs.     .     .     .     Such  was  my  wedding." 

Bessy  covered  her  face  with  both  her  hands. 
"Was  she  laughing  ?  Was  she  weeping  ?  I  cannot 
say. 

All  at  once  she  asked  me,  "  Did  you  ever  play  at 
cards  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  only  for  copper  coins." 

"  It's  all  one.  You  ought  not  to  waste  your  time 
with  it." 

"  Well,  really,  I  only  spend  that  time  on  it  which 
I  do  not  know  how  to  employ  otherwise,  the  time 
when  I  am  tired  of  work,  aud  want  a  rest  from 
thinking.  Cards  are  very  good  things  at  such  times." 

"  Then  what  a  pity  girls  also  do  not  learn  the 
science  of  card-playing  at  school,  just  as  they  learn 
to  find  out  towns  on  maps,  or  gather  the  properties 
of  exotic  plants  and  animals  from  zoological  albums ; 
then  at  least  a  newly-married  bride  would  under- 


90  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

stand  why  it  is  necessary  to  subtract  so  much,  from 
her  heritage  to  sacrifice  it  to  such  mythological  dei- 
ties as  skiz  and  pagdt}     .     .     . 

Meanwhile  I  didn't  interrupt  her,  but  remained 
standing  and  looking  at  her  with  my  hands  resting 
on  the  table.     This  seemed  to  put  her  out. 

"  Why  don't  you  smoke  a  cigar  ?    Don't  mind  me." 

"  I  would  only  remind  you  that  you  used  always 
to  make  fun  of  me  because  I  didn't  smoke." 

"  True.  Smoking  becomes  a  man.  A  cigar  or  a 
pipe  makes  his  face  so  cosy-looking.  Just  look  at 
any  man  who  hasn't  a  pipe  stuck  into  his  mouth, 
and  tell  me  if  he  doesn't  look  like  a  judge  pronounc- 
^S  judgment,  or  a  priest  shriving  a  penitent  ?  Be- 
lieve me,  that  one  of  the  reasons  why  I  was  faithless 
to  you  was  that  you  didn't  smoke.  "Well,  at  any 
rate,  I  have  got  my  reward  for  it. 

"Now,  Muki  used  to  suck  Havannahs  all  day. 
Yes,  nothing  but  Havannahs ;  but  Gyuricza  smokes 
the  coarsest  tobacco,  and  even  chews  pigtail." 

I  burst  out  laughing ;  I  couldn't  help  it.  In  what 
ways  are  a  woman's  graces  gained  !  No,  I  wouldn't 
chew  pigtail  if  the  favour  of  the  Goddess  Melpomene 
herself  depended  on  it. 

"I  will  not  weary  you  with  our  diversions  at 
Paris.  There,  I  perceived,  it  is  the  common  prac- 
tice for  husband  and  wife  to  take  their  pleasures 
apart.  My  husband  did  no  more  than  what  other 
husbands  do.  It  is  not  good  form  to  ask  a  husband 
^  Terms  used  in  Tarok. 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  91 

who  returns  home  at  dawn  where  he  has  been.  Be- 
sides, Muki,  with  perfect  candour,  informed  me  all 
about  these  places  of  public  entertainment  and  the 
joys  of  les  petits  soupers  ;  once  he  took  me  with  him 
to  these  delights — I  didn't  ask  to  go  again.  .  .  . 
I  was  very  glad  when  the  season  was  over  and  we 
returned  to  our  village,  and  after  all  the  bustling 
diversions,  flirtations,  visitings  and  boredom,  I  could 
once  more  be  alone  and  fill  my  straw  hat  with  for- 
get-me-nots on  the  banks  of  the  river,  as  of  old  on 
the  island.  You  remember  my  visit  to  your  rustic 
hut,  don't  you  ?  You  remember  the  golden  thrushes 
who  used  to  speak  to  you  ?  To  you  they  said,  '  Silly 
boy !  silly  boy !  '  to  me  they  cried,  '  What's  the 
good !  what's  the  good  ! '  On  returning  to  his  es- 
tates my  husband  became  quite  another  man :  you 
would  have  said  that  he  was  a  changeling.  The 
dainty  dandy  became  an  enthusiastic  agriculturist. 
He  was  up  early,  on  horseback  all  day,  went  from 
one  puszta  to  another,  and  brought  home  ears  of 
barley  in  his  hat.  The  only  things  he  talked  about 
at  home  were  sheepshearing  and  the  diseases  of 
horned  cattle.  He  had  a  stud  and  a  neat-herd,  and 
of  the  latter  he  appeared  to  be  particularly  proud. 
Sometimes  he  drove  me  all  over  his  demesne  in  a 
light  gig.  A  fine  demesne  it  was.  You  might  drive 
about  it  the  whole  day  and  not  see  the  whole  of  it. 
He  showed  me  his  herds.  He  told  me  that  herds 
like  them  were  not  to  be  had  in  the  whole  kingdom. 
I  didn't  understand  it.     All  that  I  could  see  was 


92  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

that  the  oxen  had  very  large  horns.  But  the  form 
of  the  herdsman  really  did  surprise  me.  He  was  a 
veritable  ancient-hero  sort  of  a  man,  such  as  we 
imagine  the  primeval  Magyars  to  have  been  who 
wandered  hither  out  of  Asia.  His  bronzed  face 
beamed  with  health,  his  thick  black  hair  whipped 
his  shoulders  with  its  greasy  curls,  and  add  to  that 
his  sun-defying  glance,  his  stately  bearing,  his  long 
mantle  embroidered  with  tulips  and  cast  lightly 
across  his  shoulder.  His  white  linen  garment 
fluttered  in  the  breeze,  and  when  he  raised  his  arm 
to  take  off  his  cap,  the  loose  fluttering  short  sleeves 
fell  right  back  and  revealed  an  arm  like  the  arm  of 
the  figure  of  an  athlete  cast  in  bronze.  '  Why, 
Peter,'  said  I,  '  is  it  with  you  that  your  master  is 
wont  to  wrestle?'  The  Hercules,  thus  addressed, 
timidly  cast  down  his  eyes  and  said  :  '  Yes  ! '  '  But 
how  on  earth  is  your  master  ever  able  to  throw 
yon  ?  '  At  this  question,  Peter  Gyuricza  shifted  his 
mantle  from  one  shoulder  to  the  other,  and  twisting 
his  moustache,  replied  :  '  As  often  as  his  Excellency 
throws  me  I  get  five  florins.'  So  that  was  the  secret 
of  Muki's  acrobatic  triumphs.  After  that,  the  herds- 
man conducted  us  to  the  great  summer  farm,  which 
was  a  good  distance  from  the  hut  where  the  calves 
are  put  to  rest  at  midday.  There,  a  savoury 
luncheon,  prepared  by  the  wife  of  the  herdsman, 
awaited  us.  She  was  a  buxom,  smart  young 
woman,  with  roguish  eyes  and  radiating  eyebrows, 
all    life    and    freshness,    a   true    blossom    of    the 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  93 

puszta}  I  caught  myself  looking  repeatedly  in  the 
mirror,  and  making  comparisons  between  her  face 
and  my  own.  After  luncheon  we  went  all  round 
the  farm,  and  the  herdsman's  wife  guided  us  from 
stable  to  stable.  A  thorn  got  into  my  foot  through 
my  slipper.  The  herdsman's  wife  bobbed  down 
and  drew  the  thorn  out,  '  You  don't  feel  the  thorn 
now,  do  you  ? '  she  asked,  flashing  a  look  upon  me. 
'  I  do  not  feel  it  in  my  foot,'  I  replied." 

Bessy  paused  for  a  moment,  and  smoothed  her 
brows  with  both  hands  as  if  to  refresh  her  memory. 

"  I  took  another  sort  of  thorn  away  with  me.  I 
began  to  be  suspicious  of  the  grand  economical  zeal 
of  my  husband.  Such  assiduity  was  not  natural. 
Early  one  morning  he  again  took  horse,  called  to 
his  greyhounds,  and  told  me  not  to  wait  for  him  to 
dinner,  he  would  not  be  home  till  evening.  A  certain 
instinct  would  not  let  me  rest,  I  went  out  into 
the  garden,  right  to  the  boundary  fence  and  into 
the  stubble  beyond,  and  then  I  went  on  foot  into 
the  puszta,  through  the  turnip  fields  and  the  Indian 
corn.  Nobody  saw  me.  The  vesper-bell  was  ringing 
in  the  village  when  I  entered  the  courtyard  of  the 
herdsman.  In  the  stubble  I  saw  the  two  dogs  hunt- 
ing a  hare  on  their  own  account.  Truly,  a  Cockney 
sportsman  who  allows  his  dogs  to  win  their  own 
meat  like  that !  I  whistled  to  them,  they  recog- 
nised me  and  came  leaping  around  me.  *  Where's 
your  master  ? '  The  dogs  understood  me.  They 
'  i.e.,  a  true  heath-flower. 


94  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

began  yelping  and  barking,  and  darted  ~  on  before 
me  helter-skelter,  with  their  heads  between  their 
legs  as  if  to  give  me  to  understand  that  they  would 
lead  me  to  the  spot  if  I  followed  them.  They  made 
straight  for  the  hut.  No  doubt  they  fancied  they 
were  doing  something  very  knowing.  When  I 
marched  in  at  the  door  the  little  servant  exclaimed, 

*  Good  gracious  ! '  and  let  fall  the  wooden  trencher  in 
which  she  was  kneading  some  dough  with  a  large 
pot-ladle,  and  when  I  advanced  towards  the  dwell- 
ing-room  door,    she    stood   in   my  way,  and    said, 

*  Please  don't  go  in  now ! '  I  boxed  her  ears  for 
her,  first  on  the  right  side  and  then  on  the  left, 
pushed  her  into  a  cupboard  and  locked  the  door 
upon  her.  Then  I  opened  the  door  of  the  dwelling- 
room.  There  was  nobody  there.  But  the  door  of  a 
little  side  room,  which  in  peasants'  houses  is,  as  a 
rule,  always  open,  was  closed.  On  the  table,  how- 
ever, I  perceived  my  lord's  hat  and  his  riding-whip. 
I  made  no  disturbance.  The  clothes  of  the  herds- 
man's wife  lay  in  a  heap  on  a  bench.  I  took  off 
my  clothes  and  put  on  hers  carefully,  one  by  one. 
I  was  just  as  you  see  me  now." 

She  stood  up  before  me  and  turned  herself  round 
that  I  might  have  a  better  look  at  her. 

"  Then  I  went  into  the  outer  hut  again,  and 
picked  the  ladle  from  the  floor  which  the  maid  had 
let  fall  in  her  terror.  It  was  a  mess  of  bacon 
dumplings  that  she  had  been  engaged  upon.  I 
kneaded    the  dough  for    the  dumplings,   I    made 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT.  95 

twelve  beautiful  little  round  ones  out  of  it,  boiled 
them,  beat  up  a  nice  garlic  sauce  with  them,  and 
poured  the  whole  lot  of  it  into  a  varnished  jug,  first 
tasting  to  see  that  it  was  not  over  salted.  Then  I 
tied  up  the  jar  in  my  kerchief,  and  set  off  with  it 
towards  the  pasturage.  But  another  idea  also 
occurred  to  me,  I  concealed  behind  my  apron  my 
husband's  riding  whip  that  was  reposing  on  the 
table,  and  took  it  away  with  me. 

"  The  pasturage  is  pretty  far  from  the  hut.  It 
was  somewhat  late  when  I  arrived  there.  The 
herdsman  was  quite  impatient,  and  had  climbed  up 
a  '  look-out '  tree,  and  when  he  saw  my  striped  dress 
and  bright  red  kerchief,  he  began  to  bawl  out, 
'  Hillo !  Come  along,  can't  you !  I'll  give  you  what 
for !  I'll  teach  you  something,  you  cursed  block- 
head !  What  have  you  done  with  my  dinner  ?  A 
pretty  time  when  they're  already  ringing  vespers  in 
the  village,  I  suppose  you've  been  carrying  on  with 
his  honour  again  ?  Let  me  catch  you  at  it,  that's 
all,  and  I'll  tickle  your  hide  for  you  with  my  whip.' 
When  I  got  up  to  him  and  lifted  the  kerchief  from 
my  head,  he  stopped  short  with  his  mouth  open, 
'  Well,  I  never !  if  it  isn't  her  ladyship  ! ' — '  True, 
Peter ! '  said  I.  '  I've  cooked  your  dinner  for  you, 
and  now  you  see  I've  brought  it  to  you.  Your  wife 
cannot  come.  She's  learning  French  from  my 
husband.  I've  also  brought  with  me  my  husband's 
whip.  I  found  it  on  your  table.  You  may  flog  with 
it  whomever  you  like,  either  me  or  your  wife,' " 


96  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

Here  slie  stopped  short.  She  evidently  meant 
me  to  find  out  the  rest  of  the  story  for  myself. 

"  Poor  woman ! "  I  murmured.  I  was  sorry  and 
embarrassed. 

She  burst  out  laughing. 

"Don't  pity  me,  pray!  I  am  perfectly  happy. 
Gyuricza  did  not  strike  me  with  his  whip.  I  am 
now  mistress  in  the  herdsman's  hut." 

And  she  seemed  quite  proud  of  it  all ! 

Then  she  began  to  tell  me  of  her  new  hero  with 
real  enthusiasm.  He  was  what  man  was  meant  to 
be  when  first  created,  all  strength  and  truth  ;  there 
was  nothing  artificial,  nothing  false,  nothing  effemi- 
nate about  him.  "  When  he  comes  home  at  night 
he  goes  to  the  fireplace  to  smoke  his  pipe;  then 
he  empties  a  can  of  buttermilk  to  the  very  dregs. 
"Wine  is  only  put  upon  the  table  on  Sundays.  Then 
he  asks,  '  Have  you  any  good  dumpling  soup,  sweet- 
heart ? '  'Of  course  I  have,  and  cured  bacon  and 
groat  pottage  as  well.'  As  soon  as  it  is  ready  we 
turn  it  out  and  sit  down  to  it.  "We  eat  with  tin 
spoons  out  of  a  large  common  dish.  No  invitation 
is  needed  there.  The  lady  herself  fetches  the  water 
from  the  spring.  The  master  drinks  one  half  of  it 
and  offers  the  other  half  to  his  wife :  '  You  drink 
too ! '  And  after  that  they  don't  go  in  for  much 
stargazing,  nor  do  they  care  a  fig  for  the  world  and 
all  its  thousand  troubles.  They  sleep  with  open 
doors,  and  the  four  sheep-dogs  guard  the  house. 

"At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  Bessy  gets  up 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  97 

and  goes  into  the  stable  to  milk  the  cows ;  by  dawn 
it  must  be  all  done.  The  little  milking-stool  is 
now  her  throne.  She  pours  the  fresh  foaming  milk 
into  the  pails  and  takes  them  into  the  cellar  with 
the  help  of  the  serving  maid.  When  the  boy 
sounds  his  horn  the  cows  must  be  driven  out ;  they 
must  be  pastured  apart  from  the  brood-cows.  And 
all  this  time  the  master  is  eating  his  breakfast: 
peppered  bacon  and  green  leeks  with  good  papra- 
morgd,^  and  then  he  follows  his  herds  out  into  the 
pastures.  The  reason  why  he  cracks  his  whip  so 
loudly  is  because  he  knows  that  some  one  is  stand- 
ing there  in  the  little  door  and  looking  after  him. 
Then  she  has  to  skim  the  cream  from  the  standing 
milk,  chum  the  milk,  and  take  the  butter  to  market. 
Then  she  has  to  buckle  to  bread-baking.  The  maid 
is  sent  to  heat  the  oven ;  meanwhile  she  herself 
is  kneading  the  dough,  then  she  shovels  out  the 
burning  embers  with  the  oven  scoop,  and  wipes 
down  the  inside  of  the  oven  with  a  wet  kitchen- 
clout  ;  then  the  loaves  are  shot  in  by  means  of 
the  long  baking-shovel  (first  of  all,  however,  are 
baked  the  'fire-cakes,'  which  'my  soul'^  loves  so 
much),  finally  the  'lock-up'  stone  is  smeared  with 
clay  and  placed  in  front  of  the  oven,  and  one  must 
be  ready  to  an  instant  to  pull  the  stone  from  the 
mouth  of  the  oven  again  and  take  out  the  loaves. 
Meanwhile,  she  has  had  time  to  prepare  upon  the 
hearth  a  pottage  of  millet  and  smoked  bacon,  and 
*  A  sort  of  eau-de-vie,  *  Lelkem,  i.e.,  "  My  darling." 

H 


98  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

carry  it  quickly,  pot  and  all,  to  the  pasturage,  so 
that  when  the  mid-day  bell  rings,  the  master  may 
have  his  victuals  ready  laid  on  his  outspread  fur 
pelisse.  After  dinner,  beneath  the  shadow  of  the 
big  wild  nut-tree,  she  may  take  a  nap  with  an  apron 
thrown  over  her  face.  On  returning  home  she  gets 
out  her  bruised  flax  and  heckles  it,  so  that  when 
the  husband  returns  home  he  finds  wife  and  family 
sitting  by  the  distaflf  and  singing  together  the 
spinning  songs  of  the  country  folk,  till  the  pigs 
come  running  home  with  a  great  grunting  and  de- 
mand their  slush. — Oh,  such  a  life  as  that  is  pure 
enjoyment ! " 

I  shook  my  head  dubiously. 

"It  will  bore  you  one  day." 

"Bore  me!  Don't  you  recollect  when  I  was  in 
your  lath  hut  I  painted  this  very  life  to  you  as 
my  ideal? — A  hut  of  rushes  and  a  bed  of  straw. 
You  spoke  to  me  of  fame  and  glory.  The  lowing  of 
kine,  the  tinkling  of  sheep-bells,  the  cracking  of 
whips  is  my  delight.  It  was  so  even  then.  Since 
that  time  I  have  leanit  to  know  the  great  world, 
but  it  hasn't  altered  me.  I  am  full  of  disgust  with 
everything  that  is  to  be  found  in  palaces.  Those 
demi-men,  those  Sunday  husbands — those  refined 
and  exquisitely  polite  she-sinners,  those  model  stick- 
lers for  virtue  who  sin  through  the  whole  ten 
commandments  day  after  day,  and  vie  even  with 
the  ladies  of  the  ballet,  with  this  difference,  how- 
ever, that  the  ballet-dancers  are  much  more  modest 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  99 

in  private  than  these  great  ladies  are  in  public — 
I  am  sick  and  weary  of  the  whole  lot  of  them.  I 
would  rather  have  a  man  who  never  washes  his 
mouth  after  he  has  eaten  garlic,  than  a  man  who 
returns  home  from  an  orgie  and  pretends  he  has 
been  to  a  political  conference.  The  famous  Hamil- 
ton bed,  which  costs  you  a  hundred  ducats  if  you 
sleep  in  it  for  a  single  night,  is  wretchedness  itself 
compared  to  the  bed  of  fresh  straw  on  which  I 
sleep.  Believe  me  when  I  tell  you  that  I  am 
perfectly  happy." 

"  I'll  believe  anything  you  like,  but  there's  one 
circumstance  I  cannot  understand.  How  is  it  that 
nobody  disturbs  this  sweet  idyll  of  yours?  Is  the 
one  man  who  is  so  confoundedly  nearly  interested  in 
your  happiness,  is  that  man  still  alive  ?  Does  Muki 
Bagotay  still  exist  anywhere  in  the  wide  world  ?  " 

"  I  fancy  so." 

"  Well,  if  he  does,  I'll  only  say  that  what  flows 
through  his  veins  is  milk,  not  blood.  Is  he  content 
to  carry  the  horns  of  his  hundred  oxen?  A  rich  and 
powerful  landlord,  a  county  magnate,  and  the  mas- 
ter of  your  ideal  peasant ! — A  thousand  lightnings ! 
if  I  were  only  in  his  place  !  " 

Bessy,  with  a  sarcastic  smile,  folded  her  hands 
together  above  her  knees. 

"  "Well,  come  now  !  If  you  were  in  dear  Muki's 
place  what  would  you  do  ?" 

"  I'll  tell  you,  I  wouldn't  call  Peter  Gyuricza 
out,  but  one  fine  day  I  would  put  my  democratic 


100  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

principles  on  the  shelf,  and  collecting  my  heydukes 
and  my  rustics,  I'd  give  chase  to  the  herdsman, 
trounce  him  according  to  his  deserts,  and  kick  him 
out  of  my  employment.  I  would  get  another  herds- 
man ;  but  as  for  my  wife,  I'd  tie  her  to  the  pummel 
of  my  saddle,  and  drag  her  like  that  to  my  castle. 
That's  what  /  would  do,  were  I  the  husband  of 
Muki  Bagotay's  wife !  " 

I  had  certainly  got  a  little  heated.  It  was  only 
afterwards  that  I  reflected,  "  What's  Hecuba  to  me? 
Why  should  I  bother  my  head  about  Peter  Gyu- 
ricza  ?  " 

Bessy,  however,  laughed  most  heartily. 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !  You'd  have  done  that  to  me, 
would  you?  You'd  have  tied  me  to  your  horse's 
tail  and  whipped  me  home,  eh  ?  How  sorry  I  am 
then  that  I  did  not  choose  you  !  What  a  fine  thing 
it  would  have  been  if  I  could  have  boasted  of  bear- 
ing the  impression  of  your  blows  on  my  body! 
Tell  me  now,  have  you  ever  struck  any  one  who 
was  unable  to  hit  you  back  ?  " 

At  this  I  was  fairly  put  to  silence. 

"  But  let  that  be !  You  could  not  be  so  good  a 
Muki  Bagotay  as  Muki  Bagotay  himself  would  have 
been  if  he  could.  He  actually  did  try  the  very 
recipe  which  you  now  recommend.  The  very  next 
day  he  sent  his  bailiff  with  the  verbal  message  to 
Peter  Gyuricza  to  pack  himself  off  forthwith,  but 
me  the  bailiff  was  to  bring  straight  home.  The 
bailiff  gave  himself  airs,  and  would  have  used  force. 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  101 

SO  I  gave  him  a  sound  box  on  the  ears,  which  he'll 
not  forget  in  a  hurry ;  whereupon  Peter  G-yuricza 
thi'ew  him  out  of  the  house. 

"  Next  clay  the  wounded  honour  of  the  offended 
husband  resorted  to  still  stronger  measures :  six 
pandurs^  appeared  upon  the  scene  with  swords  and 
pistols.  Peter  and  I  were  outside  in  the  pastures. 
Thither  they  came  after  us.  But  Peter  was  not  a 
bit  put  out.  He  hastily  called  together  his  young 
shepherds ;  there  were  four  of  them ;  they  caught  up 
their  cudgels,  and  the  four  sheep  dogs  took  the  same 
side.  The  s\xpandu7's  never  dreamt  we  should  tackle 
them.  The  corporal  of  the  pandurs  threatened  to 
fire  if  we  offered  the  least  resistance.  I  immediately 
rushed  forward  in  front  of  Peter,  and  said  to  them, 
'  Very  well !  there  you  are  !  Fire  ! '  There  was  a 
pretty  rumpus,  the  dogs  began  to  bark,  and  at  last 
even  the  stolid  steers  got  mad,  and  the  big  old  bull 
rushed  out  of  the  herd  and  charged  straight  at  the 
pandurs,  who  were  thronging  round  the  herdsman. 
They  took  to  their  heels  straightway,  and  those  who 
did  not  leave  their  shakos  behind  them  might  think 
themselves  lucky." 

"  Wliy,  that  was  quite  an  epic  poem  !  " 
"  "Wasn't  it !  But  you  haven't  heard  the  end  of 
it  yet.  After  the  repulse  of  the  second  assault, 
Muki  began  to  carry  on  the  war  in  grim  earnest. 
One  evening,  our  maid,  who  had  been  sent  out  as  a 
spy,  came  back  with  the  terrifying  news  that  his 
^  County  police. 


102  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

honour  had  sent  out  orders  that  on  the  following 
day  all  his  tenants  were  to  assemble  in  the  court- 
yard of  the  castle  armed  with  cudgels,  flails,  and 
pitchforks  ;  to  his  huntsmen  and  heydukes  also  he 
had  distributed  guns  and  ammunition.  The  whole  of 
this  host  was  to  advance  upon  us  in  battle  array  on 
the  morrow.  It  would  have  been  well,  perhaps,  to 
have  fled  before  them  while  there  was  yet  time. 
But  we  did  not  fly." 

"  Then  what  was  the  end  of  it  all  ?  " 

"  A  very  droll  ending  indeed,  "When  the  danger 
was  greatest,  good  luck  sent  a  deliverer,  a  good 
friend,  just  as  usually  happens  in  happily-con- 
structed dramas,  who  intervened  with  a  mighty 
hand  and  diverted  the  stroke  from  our  heads." 

"  And  who  was  this  good  friend  ?  " 

"  Why,  who  else  but  the  bearer  of  this  fine  blonde 
beard  !  "  cried  she,  with  an  ironical  smile,  caressing 
my  chin. 

"  I  ?  Why,  I  was  not  in  that  part  of  the  country 
at  all." 

"Ah!  but  poets  have  long  arms,  you  know.  At 
the  very  moment  when  Muki  was  placing  firearms 
in  the  hands  of  his  peasants,  freedom  was  proclaimed 
at  Pest.  The  rumour  spread  throughout  the  king- 
dom like  wildfire — the  Revolution  had  broken  out. 
They  say  in  Pressburg  that  Petofi  and  you  were 
on  the  Bakos  ^  at  the  head  of  40,000  peasants,  and 

*  A  plain  to  the  east  of  Pest,  where,  from  the  earliest  times, 
elective  assemblies  were  held. 


PETER  GYURICZAS  CONSORT  103 

that  a  new  Dozsa  ^  war  had  begun.  The  retainers 
of  Muki  also  thronged  up  to  his  castle,  not  to  carry 
me  oflf  by  force,  but  to  demand  their  liberties. 
'  AVe'U  work  no  more  ! '  they  cried  ;  '  we'll  pay  no 
more  tithes,  and  no  more  hearth-money.'  ^  Freedom 
had  broken  out  with  a  vengeance !  Muki  was  there- 
upon so  terrified  that  he  fled  incontinently  through 
the  back  door  in  the  clothes  of  his  lackey,  and  never 
stopped  till  he  was  safely  out  of  the  kingdom.  I 
have  heard  nothing  of  him  since.  So  you  see  your 
mighty  hand  turned  aside  the  danger  that  was 
hovering  over  our  heads.  We  drank  your  health 
afterwards  in  big  bumpers." 

I  certainly  had  never  calculated  upon  success  of 
this  sort. 

"Well,"  said  I,  "you  have  certainly  disposed  of 
Mr.  Janos  Nepomuk  Bagotay  for  a  time  (though  I 
would  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  will 
not  be  very  long  in  perceiving  that  there  is  no 
Dozsa  war  in  Hungary,  and  will  then  return  with 
reinforcements),  but  may  I  ask  what  her  ladyship 
your  mother  says  to  all  this  ?  " 

"  I  should  have  come  to  that,  even  if  you  had  not 
asked  me.  In  fact,  this  is  the  very  thing  which 
brings  me  to  you.  One  fine  evening  when  I  was 
returning   home   from  the   maize  fields,   with    my 

*  George  Dozsa,  the  leader  of  the  Hungarian  jacquerie  of 
1514,  who  was  finally  captured  and  executed  after  truly 
infernal  torments. 

*  Fiistpenz — lit.,  smoke  money,  so  much  on  each  chimney. 


104  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

kerchief  full  of  pods,  I  found  an  official  notification 
nailed  on  the  door  of  our  hut.  The  lawyer's  clerk 
who  brought  it,  delighted  to  find  nobody  at  home, 
had  fastened  the  document  to  the  door-post  and 
decamped.  It  gave  me  to  understand  that  Muki 
was  bringing  an  action  against  me  for  adultery.  A 
term  was  fixed,  however,  within  which,  according 
to  custom,  we  might  appear  before  the  priest  at  any 
place  we  liked  and  be  reconciled  if  possible.  After 
the  lapse  of  six  weeks  the  priest  would  make  another 
attempt   to   bring   about   a  reconciliation;   if   this 

did  not  succeed,  he  would  bid  us  go  to  the ! 

and  we  should  have  to  appear  before  the  judge 
instead ! " 

I  now  began  to  see  to  what  I  was  indebted  for 
the  pleasure  of  her  visit.  I  should  very  much  have 
liked  to  have  banged  the  door  in  her  face  with  the 
words :  "I  am  not  a  lawyer,  though  I  have  served 
my  terms  !  "    But  I  let  her  go  on. 

"  I  immediately  took  down  the  notification  from 
the  door,"  she  resumed,  "  and  sent  my  little  maid 
with  it  to  town  to  my  mother's.  By  way  of  ex- 
planation I  wrote  her  a  letter,  a  task  not  unattended 
with  difficulty,  as  Peter  Gyuricza's  hut  was  sin- 
gularly ill- provided  with  writing  materials.  First 
of  all  I  had  to  manufacture  ink  from  wild  juniper 
berries,  then  I  carved  a  pen  from  a  goose-quill ;  in 
place  of  paper  I  made  use  of  beautifully  smooth 
maize  leaves." 

"  Just  as  the  Egyptians  used  papyrus  ?  " 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  105 

"  Yes,  and  if  papyrus  was  good  enougli  for  the 
daughters  of  the  Pharaohs,  why  shouldn't  maize- 
membranes  be  good  enough  for  me  ?  I  wrote  and 
told  her  everything  that  had  happened.  I  entirely 
justified  my  proc3eedings.  If  there  was  but  one 
drop  of  justice  in  her  composition  she  would  be 
bound  to  acknowledge  that  my  line  of  action  was 
as  clear  as  the  day.  Muki  had  made  off  with  the 
herdsman's  wife ;  I,  following  the  lex  talionis—an 
eye  for  eye — had  made  off  with  Gyuricza.  He  had 
brought  an  action  against  me ;  Gyuricza  would 
bring  an  action  against  his  own  wife.  The  pair  of 
us  stood  on  exactly  the  same  legal  footing.  If  the 
two  divorces  were  carried  out,  I  meant  to  make  the 
man  of  my  choice  my  lawful  husband,  and  would 
become  in  name  what  I  already  was  in  fact,  the 
wife  of  Peter  Gyuricza.  I  referred  to  you  also  in 
my  letter." 

"  To  me  ? " 

"  Yes.  I  argued  that  there  was  now  no  difference 
between  peasants  and  gentlemen,  and  pointed  out 
that  since  the  15th  March  you  had  omitted  the 
privileged  '  y ' '  from  the  end  of  your  name,  and 
had  substituted  for  it  a  simple  '  e,'  and  you  were 
a  'glorious  patriot,'  as  every  one  knew.  Nobody 
therefore  had  any  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  Peter 
Gyuricza.     Besides,  I  did  not  mean  that  he  should 

*  The  "  y "  at  the  end  of  Hungarian  personal  names  has 
much  the  same  value  as  the  French  de  or  the  German  von 
— Tb. 


106  EYES  UKE  THE  SEA 

remain  a  herdsman  any  longer ;  but  as  soon  as  my 
mother  handed  over  to  me  my  patrimony  (so  much 
of  it  I  mean  as  Muki  had  not  already  squandered 
away),  I  meant  to  purchase  a  farm,  and  Gyuricza 
and  I  would  settle  down  upon  it  as  independent 
proprietors." 

The  matter  now  really  began  to  amuse  me.  I 
could  imagine  to  myself  the  Hogarthian  group 
when  the  trio  of  ladies  began  spelling  out  syllable 
by  syllable  the  letter  that  had  been  written  on  a 
maize-leaf. 

"  Well !  and  what  answer  did  you  get  ?  " 
"  The  answer  you  may  easily  have  anticipated. 
My  mother  replied  that  she  repudiated  me  entirely, 
that  I  should  not  get  a  farthing  from  her,  and  that 
I  was  never  again  to  presume  to  show  my  face  in 
a  family  which  I  had  so  utterly  disgraced." 
"  And  did  Peter  know  all  about  this  ?  " 
"  I  was  obliged  to  tell  him,  for  my  mother  had 
nearly  frightened  to  death  the  bearer  of  my  letter, 
our  Httle  serving  maid.  She  told  her  that  if  she 
ever  dared  to  come  to  town  again  she  would  have 
her  seized  and  tied  to  the  pillory  (though  there 
wasn't  one),  and  well  flogged  into  the  bargain ;  so 
that  neither  by  cuffs  nor  entreaties  was  the  wench 
to  be  persuaded  to  go  to  town  again.  She  said  as 
much  to  Peter.  She  said  she  would  rather  lose  her 
place.  And  yet  she  ought  to  have  gone  every  mar- 
ket-day to  the  town  with  cheese  and  butter,  for 
these  wares  were  Peter's  chief  means  of  livelihood. 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  10? 

What  was  I  to  do  now  ?  I  did  this,  I  resolved  to 
take  the  butter  and  cheese  to  market  myself." 

"You?    But  how?" 

"  Not  in  a  glass  carriage,  you  may  be  sure.  The 
market  is  a  good  two  hours'  journey  from  our  hut, 
and  the  direction  is  marked  by  the  church  tower. 
The  peasant  women,  when  they  pack  with  wares  the 
baskets  which  they  put  on  their  heads,  make,  first 
of  all,  a  sort  of  wreath  of  rags,  which  they  place 
below  the  baskets  to  lighten  the  pressure  and  main- 
tain the  equilibrium." 

"  And  you  did  the  same  ?  " 

"  Naturally  !  It  is  no  greater  hardship  for  me, 
surely,  than  for  the  other  poor  girls  who  do  it.  And 
remember,  besides,  that  this  marketing  is  just  as 
great  an  amusement  to  the  peasant  women  as  a 
promenade  concert  is  to  fine  ladies.  There  was  only 
one  little  nuisance  connected  with  it.  Just  at  this 
time  all  the  irrigation  waters  had  overflowed,  and 
all  the  fields  and  meadows  between  our  hut  and  the 
market  town  were  turned  into  a  lake,  through  which 
we  had  to  wade." 

""What !  you  waded  through  the  flooded  fields?  " 

"Oh,  the  water  did  not  really  come  above  my 
knees.  It  was  only  here  and  there,  by  the  side  of 
the  streams,  that  we  had  to  truss  up  our  petticoats 
pretty  high,  and  then  we  took  off  our  boots  and 
carried  them  tied  on  to  the  handles  of  our  baskets. 
That  is  how  all  the  women  go." 

"  And  you  picked  your  way  along  like  that  too  ?  " 


108  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  Again  and  again !  I  might,  indeed,  have  gone 
along  by  the  dykes,  but  then  I  should  have  had  to 
turn  into  the  village  and  make  a  circuit  of  four  miles 
with  the  mud  up  to  my  knees.  Along  the  even 
marshes,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  pleasant  going,  the 
soft  soil  does  not  hurt  your  heels,  and  there  are  no 
leeches." 

"  But  did  no  one  see  you  ?  " 

"  What  did  I  care  ?  I  quite  enjoyed  my  aquatic 
promenade.  It  was  every  bit  as  good  as  bathing  at 
Trouville,  and  there  I  had  by  no  means  so  ample  a 
toilet.  On  arriving  in  town,  I  at  once  readjusted 
my  clothes,  put  on  my  boots,  and  went  to  sell  butter 
and  cheese  right  in  front  of  my  mother's  house.  It 
was  really  a  capital  position  that  I  chose ;  a  corner- 
house  between  two  thoroughfares,  opening  out  upon 
the  market-place." 

"  And  nobody  recognised  you  ?  " 

""Why  shouldn't  they?  Every  one  recognised 
me,  even  the  money-collector  who  hires  out  the 
standing-rooms.  He  allowed  me  my  standing-room 
gratis,  because  I '  belonged  to  the  place.'  I  was  sur- 
rounded by  quite  a  crowd  of  my  former  cavaliers, 
who  bought  up  all  my  butter,  and  I  sold  my  cheese 
by  the  ounce,  at  fancy  prices ;  there  was  quite  a 
run  upon  it.  Never  had  Peter  Gyuricza  seen  so 
much  money  as  I  brought  home  to  him  from  the 
sale  of  his  butter  and  cheese." 

"  And  your  worthy  mother  ?  " 

"Alas !  all  that  the  poor  thing  could  do  was  to  pull 


PETER  GYURICZAS  CONSORT  109 

down  all  the  blinds  in  broad  daylight.  I,  however, 
purchased  with  the  proceeds  of  the  butter  and 
cheese  as  much  salt  and  tobacco  as  we  required, 
packed  them  all  up  in  the  basket,  and,  placing  it  on 
my  head,  returned  through  the  floods  the  same  way 
by  which  I  came." 

"  And  did  you  do  this  often  ?  " 

"Every  market  day.  Sometimes  it  was  rainy. 
Then  the  peasant  woman  is  wont  to  throw  her 
upper  garment  over  her  head,  that  is  her  umbrella. 
I  had  to  get  accustomed  to  that  too.  Once,  a  couple 
of  my  former  young  gentlemen  acquaintances  took 
it  into  their  heads  to  play  me  a  practical  joke.  They 
paddled  a  canoe  out  of  the  Danube  into  the  sub- 
merged plain,  and  when  I  began  my  wading  tour 
they  paddled  after  me.  That  did  me  no  harm,  but 
it  turned  out  badly  for  them,  for  the  peasant  girls 
who  went  with  me  charged  upon  them  like  the  host 
of  Sisera,  wrested  the  paddles  from  their  hands,  and 
left  them  rocking  helplessly  to  and  fro  in  the  midst 
of  the  waters." 

"  But  hasn't  the  water  all  dried  up  now  ?  "  I  asked 
impatiently. 

"  Oh,  how  he  snaps  at  me !  Of  course !  Now 
we  can  go  dry-shod.  Only  when  "u'e  come  to  a 
ditch  do  we  take  off  our  shoes.  But,  dear  heart ! 
how  I  do  go  on  gabbling  without  ever  coming  to  the 
point.  I  must  explain  why  I  have  come  all  the  way 
hither  to  you,  my  dear  Mr,  Advocate.  As  I  will  not 
appear  before  the  priest  to  further  the  reconciliation 


110  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

project,  and  my  husband  (my  first,  I  mean)  will  do 
so  neither,  I  must,  of  course,  appear  before  the 
judge !  and  as,  moreover,  my  mother  must  be  ad- 
monished to  hand  over  my  little  property,  if  you 
would  take  my  case  up  for  me  I  should  be  exceedingly 
obliged  to  you." 

I  told  her  that  I  did  not  practise  as  an  advocate, 
and  that  I  had  no  experience  whatever  of  divorce 
proceedings,  not  having  been  taught  the  subject  in 
the  schools. 

Then  she  began  to  speak  in  a  very  solemn  voice. 
She  said  she  had  never  expected  me  to  take  up  her 
case,  but  had  sought  me  out  because  she  had  been 
informed  that  the  advocates  with  whom  I  had  served 
my  articles  were  very  eminent  practitioners ;  she 
would  like  to  entrust  her  double  suit  to  them.  As, 
however,  she  feared  that  they  would  neither  receive 
her  nor  believe  her  if  she  appeared  before  them  in 
her  present  costume,  she  earnestly  begged  that  I 
would  give  her  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  firm 
of  Molnar  &  Verchovszky  for  friendship's  sake— or 
for  any  other  price. 

"  "Well,  I  can  do  that  for  you — for  nothing." 

To  write  this  letter  I  had  to  sit  down  at  my  writ- 
ing-table. 

"  May  1  peep  and  see  what  you  write  about  me  ?  " 

"n  you  like." 

I  could  not  take  offence  at  her  curiosity. 

"  I'll  help  you !  "  said  she,  with  naive  archness, 
and  went  and  stood  behind  my  back. 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  111 

I  must  say  that  she  had  a  very  odd  notion  of 
helping  me.  She  leant  right  over  me  so  that  I  could 
feel  her  burning  breath  on  my  face,  and  the  throb- 
bing of  her  heart  against  my  shoulder.  I  spoiled 
the  firs'  sheet  of  paper  by  wi-iting  last  year's  date 
at  the  top  of  it.  Then  I  could  not  call  to  mind  the 
name  of  my  client,  and  I  thought  one  thing  and 
wrote  another.  Add  to  that  that  I  made  a  mess  of 
the  simplest  sentences,  and  wrote  in  a  style  worthy 
of  a  pedantic  grammarian.  Finally  I  got  hopelessly 
involved' in  the  maze  of  a  long-winded  phrase  which 
I  began  but  could  not  finish.  That's  what  happens 
to  a  man  when  he  has  to  listen  to  the  beating  of 
two  hearts ! 

It  was  on  this  self-same  table  that  the  picture 
stood  which  I  have  already  mentioned.  I  had  no 
time  to  conceal  it  in  my  drawer.  And  why  should 
I  have  tried  to  hide  it  ?  Was  I  bound  to  make  a 
mystery  of  it  before  her  ? 

Right  opposite  to  my  writing-table  was  a  mirror 
on  the  wall.  On  one  occasion,  when  I  was  pursuing 
an  elusive  word,  I  raised  my  head  from  my  writing- 
desk  and  saw  in  the  mirror  the  figure  of  the  woman 
who  was  standing  behind  my  back.  Oh,  what  a 
face  was  that !  She  was  not  looking  into  my  letter, 
but  at  the  portrait.  The  eyes  were  turned  side- 
ways, so  that  the  upper  parts  of  the  whites  were 
visible  ;  the  lips  were  drawn  aside,  and  the  teeth 
clenched. 

I  saw  this  from  the  mirror.     And  this  mirror,  too 


112  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

had  the  property  of  making  things  look  green. 
Viewed  in  this  magic  light,  the  fair  lady  standing 
behind  me  appeared  like  the  Iblis  of  the  Thousand- 
and-one  Nights,  who  sucks  the  blood  of  her  lovers 
and  leads  the  dances  of  the  dead. 

I  finished  the  letter  to  my  old  chiefs. 

Then  I  dried  it  with  a  piece  of  blotting-paper. 
Sand  I  have  always  hated.  I  also  felt,  in  this  re- 
spect, like  Stephen  Szechenyi,^  who,  whenever  he 
received  a  sanded-letter,  used  to  give  it  first  of  all  to 
his  lackey  to  be  taken  out  in  the  hall  and  dusted. 
Before  enclosing  the  letter,  however,  I  turned  round 
and  handed  it  to  her. 

"  Would  you  read  it,  please  ?  " 

The  menacing  spectre  was  no  longer  there.  Iblis 
had  changed  into  a  smiling  young  bride. 

"  And  how  do  you  know  that  I  haven't  read  the 
letter  ?  "  she  asked,  in  her  astonishment. 

"  My  little  finger  whispered  it  to  me !  " 

At  this  she  burst  out  laughing,  and  pushed  the 
letter  away. 

^  Count  Stephen  Szechenyi,  "  the  greatest  of  the  Magyars," 
was  born  in  1791.  He  brilliantly  distinguished  himself  at 
the  battle  of  Leipsic,  and  at  Tolentino,  in  1815,  at  the  head 
of  his  Hussars,  annihilated  Murat's  cavalry.  After  the  war, 
he  devoted  himself  to  domestic  politics  with  a  tact,  courage, 
and  noble  liberality  which  speedily  made  him  the  most 
popular  man  in  Hungary.  The  Hungarian  Academy  and  the 
Hungarian  National  Theatre  were  founded  at  his  initiative 
and  mainly  at  his  expense.  The  breach  with  Austria  in  1848 
so  preyed  upon  his  mind  that  he  went  mad,  and  was  confined 
in  an  asylum,  where  he  destroyed  himself  in  1860. — Tr. 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  113 

"  I  don't  mean  to  read  it !  I  know  that  you  have 
written  no  end  of  good  things  about  me." 

I  folded  up  my  letter,  sealed  it  and  wrote  the 
address — "  Joseph  Molnar  and  Alexander  Verchov- 
szky,  Advocates."     Then  I  handed  it  to  her. 

Still  she  kept  standing  there  in  front  of  my  writ- 
ing-table, twirling  the  letter  round  and  round  in 
her  hands,  and  gazing  continually  at  the  portrait. 
Her  face  had  become  quite  solemn.  In  her  deeply 
downcast  eyes  there  was  a  suspicious  brightness 
testifying  to  restrained  tear-drops. 

She  heaved  a  deep  sigh. 

"  But  this  is  mere  folly  !  "  She  thrust  my  letter 
beneath  her  bodice,  and  in  a  voice  of  real  warmth 
and  sincerity,  she  stammered :  "I  thank  you  most 
kindly."  Then  she  added,  in  a  voice  half  grave, 
half  gay :  "  But  come  now !  You  won't  write  my 
story  in  the  newspapers,  will  you  ?  " 

"  I  assure  you  it  is  not  my  practice." 

"  And  you  won't  put  my  stupid  story  into  a  novel 
or  a  romance,  eh  ?     At  least  not  while  I'm  alive  ?  " 

"  Never  !     Put  your  mind  at  rest  on  that  point." 

"  No ;  don't  say  never.  Let  it  be  only  as  long 
as  I'm  alive.  But  when  I  die,  wherever  it  may  be, 
you  shall  receive  a  letter  from  me,  which  I  will 
write  to  you  at  my  last  hour,  authorizing  you  to 
write  all  that  you  know  of  me." 

"My  dear  friend,  death  is  written  much  more 
plainly  on  my  brow  than  on  yours." 

She  shuddered.      Twice   she    shuddered.      Then 

l: 


114  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

she  threw  her  basket  over  her  arm,  and  took  her 
leave.  I  would  have  escorted  her  to  the  door  of 
the  ante-chamber,  but  she  held  me  back. 

"  Stay  where  you  are.  I  do  not  wish  any  one 
to  see  you  paying  attention  to  a  country  wench." 

"When  I  was  by  myself  again  and  thinking  over 
the  whole  scene,  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  a  golden 
thrush  were  piping  derisively  in  my  ear  again — 

"  Foolish  fellow !     Foolish  fellow  ! " 

For  the  second  time  I  had  let  slip  the  opportunity 
of  pilfering  Paradise,  conceded  to  me  by  a  special 
and  peculiar  favour  of  the  gods.  I  candidly  confess 
that  I  am  no  saint.  ...  I  am  a  true  son  of 
Adam,  of  real  flesh  and  blood.  No  vow  binds  me 
to  an  ascetic  life.  Let  temptation  come  to  me  again 
in  the  shape  of  that  pretty  woman  to-day  and  she 
shall  see  what  I  am  made  of  !  .  .  .  All  day  long 
these  feverish  imaginings  haunted  me.  In  the 
drawer  of  my  writing-table  was  the  portrait  which 
I  once  wrested  in  knightly  tourney  from  her  bride- 
groom, and  which  she  herself  had  given  me  to  put 
to  rights.  I  went  again  and  again  to  my  writing- 
table  in  order  to  take  out  that  portrait  and  have 
another  look  at  it.  But  that  other  portrait  lay 
there  on  my  table  and  would  not  allow  it.  It  was 
much  better  to  leave  the  house.  I  occupied  the 
whole  day  in  strolling  about  the  town.  Perhaps  I 
may  meet  her  somewhere  in  the  street. 

Late  in  the  evening  I  returned  home. 

I  was  alone.  My  lackey  only  came  to  me  in  the 
morning. 


PETER  GYURICZA'S  CONSORT  115 

I  had  scarcely  lighted  my  lamp  when  I  heard  a 
knocking  at  my  door.  I  certainly  had  forgotten  to 
shut  the  door  of  my  ante-chamber,  and  so  my  visitor 
had  managed  to  penetrate  so  far.  "Who  could  it  be 
at  such  a  late  hour  ?     "  Come  in  ! " 

The  blood  flew  to  my  head  when  the  door  opened, 

She  had  come  back  ! 

Then  she  was  here  again  ! 

She  did  not  come  in,  however,  but  stood  with  the 
door-latch  in  her  hand,  as  if  she  were  afraid  of  me. 

"It  is  not  nice  of  me,  I  know,"  she  stammered, 
with  a  faltering  voice,  "to  come  here  so  late.  1 
have  been  here  three  times,  but  you  were  out.  I 
must  tell  you  what  I've  heard.     Don't  be  angry." 

I  begged  her  to  come  in,  and  took  her  by  the 
hand.     My  heart  beat  feverishly. 

"  The  lawyers  received  me  very  well.  They  were 
both  at  home.  They  took  up  my  case  and  assured 
me  that  it  was  bound  to  result  in  my  favour,  and 
that  they  would  pay  the  preliminary  expenses. 
They  behaved  like  gentlemen.  Then  the  conversa- 
tion turned  upon  you.  They  asked  how  long  we 
had  been  acquainted.  I  told  them  as  much  as  was 
necessary,  and  wound  up  by  saying  that  you  were 
the  one  thoroughly  disinterested  friend  that  I 
possessed.  Then  one  of  the  advocates,  the  tall  dry 
one  I  mean,  said,  with  perfect  good-nature :  '  Well, 
if  you  are  kindly  disposed  towards  our  yomig  friend, 
just  tell  him  that  the  path  along  which  he  is  now 
rushing  so  impetuously  leads  straight  to  the  gallows,^ 


116  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

•whereupon  tlie  blonde,  niddy-f  aced  man  added,  *  or 
dse  to  suicide.'    I  felt  I  must  tell  you  that." 

And  with  these  words  she  stepped  back  from  the 
door. 

An  icy  shudder  would  have  run  down  the  shoulders 
of  any  other  man  at  these  words,  but  the  message 
regularly  set  me  on  fire.  It  was  my  pet  idea  they 
wanted  me  to  give  up,  the  idea  which  I  adored 
even  more  than  my  lady-love,  the  idea  of  my  youth 
— the  idea  of  liberty.  If  any  one  offends  my  lady- 
love I  will  shed  his  blood,  but  let  not  even  my 
lady-love  interfere  with  my  principles,  as  for  them 
I  am  ready  to  pour  out  my  own  blood  to  the  last 
drop. 

"  Be  it  so ! "  I  cried  passionately ;  ''  that  has  no- 
thing to  do  with  you ;"  and  I  shut  the  door  in  her 
face.     Every  fibre  of  my  body  quivered  with  rage. 

They  threaten  me  with  the  gallows,  or  with  the 

suicidal  dagger  of  a  Cato !     I  fear  them  not. 

*  *  *  *  * 

My  poor  chiefs !  Half  a  year  later  they  were 
rushing  along  the  self-same  path,  at  the  end  of 
which  so  many  monsters  were  lurking.  I  only  lost 
my  hair  in  the  hands  of  these  monsters,  but  they 
lost  their  heads.  Their  own  prophecy  was  fulfilled 
on  them  both. 

From  that  day  forth  I  W£is  very  wrath  with 
the  lady  with  the  eyes  like  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   WOMAN   WHO   WENT   ALONG   WITH   MB 

A  ND  now  we'll  go  back  to  the  day  which  forms 
-*^-*-  so  remarkable  a  turning-point  in  the  life  of 
the  Hungarian  nation,  the  15th  March,  1848. 

It  did  not  come  without  due  preparation.  The 
emancipation  of  the  people,  a  free  press  and  a  free 
soil,  equality  of  taxation  and  equality  before  the 
law — all  these  splendid  ideas  had  been  fought  for 
during  the  last  ten  years  by  those  great  minds 
which  towered  above  their  fellows.  The  time  had 
now  arrived,  the  process  had  been  decided,  the  judg- 
ment lived  in  the  heart  of  every  honest  patriot. 
The  great  sacrifices  which  the  metamorphosis  re- 
quired were  not  demanded,  but  volunteered.  "We 
debated  about  them  in  the  Diet,  party  against 
party,  with  all  the  fervour  of  conviction. 

A  melancholy  example  was  before  us,  which,  like 
that  fata  Morgana  of  the  ocean,  the  phantom  galley 
overturned,  warns  the  seaman  of  the  danger  that  is 
hovering  over  his  head.  I  allude  to  the  events  in 
Galicia  the  year  before. 

The  Polish  gentry  of  Galicia  demanded  their 
liberties,  and  emphasized  their  demands  by  force  of 


118  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

arms.  There  was  no  need  on  tlie  part  of  the  au- 
thorities to  set  in  motion  an  army  corps  against  this 
new  confederacy,  the  peasantry  did  the  work  for 
them  instead.  The  Galician  peasants '  crushed  the 
Polish  gentry.  The  censorship  had  prevented  the 
Hungarian  newspapers  from  making  known  the  de- 
tails of  this  rebellion,  but  when  the  Diet  met,  it 
was  impossible  to  prevent  the  fiery  deputy  for  Co- 
mom,  the  youthful  Denis  Pazmandy,  from  raising 
his  mighty  voice  on  behalf  of  the  Poles,  and  making 
known  the  shocking  particulars  of  the  bloody  mas- 
sacre to  the  Hungarian  nation.  There  are  many 
sad  pages  in  the  history  of  the  Polish  nation,  but 
none  so  sad  as  this.  And  the  hand  which  wrote 
that  page  could  easily  glide  over  to  the  next  page 
also,  and  that  next  page  was  the  history  of  the 
Hungarian  nation.  Here  half  a  million  of  gentry 
stand  face  to  face  with  fifteen  millions  of  serfs 
which  serve,  suffer,  pay,  carry  arms,  and  are  silent. 
Then  the  Paris  Eevolution  broke  out.  The  French 
nation  overthrew  the  throne.  (By  the  way,  a  tat- 
ter from  the  canopy  over  the  French  throne  was 
brought  home  by  one  of  our  young  writers,  Louis 
Dobsa,  as  a  present  for  Petofi.  Dobsa  fought  on  the 
February  barricades.)     Serious   debates   were  held 

*  They  were  mostly  Ruthenians,  and  racial  and  religious 
differences  had  much  to  do  with  their  antagonism.  This 
inveigling  of  the  peasantry  against  the  gentry,  generally  at- 
tributed to  Metternich,  is  one  of  the  darkest  blots  in  Austrian 
history. — Tb. 


THE  WOMAN  WHO  WENT  ALONG  WITH  ME   119 

in  tlie  Hungarian  Diet.  But  Pressburg  ^  was  mucti 
too  cold  a  field  for  such  things.  They  wanted  as- 
sistance from  Pest.  We  didn't  say  Buda-Pest  then, 
Buda  ^  was  not  ours.  .  .  .  Meanwhile  the  Vienna 
Revolution  broke  out.  The  streets  of  Vienna  re- 
sounded with  the  watchword  "  Freedom,"  and  were 
painted  with  the  blood  of  the  heroes  that  had  fallen 
for  it. 

"  /So  these  Vienna  people  whom  we  blackguard  so 
much  show  that  they  know  how  to  shed  their  blood  for 
freedom  while  we  glorious  Magyars  sit  at  our  fire- 
slides  ! "  cried  Petofi  bitterly.  "  Let  us  send  no 
more  petitions  to  the  Diet,"  he  added,  "  it  is  deaf ! 
Let  us  appeal  to  the  nation  :  it  will  hear ! " 
Then  he  wrote  his  "  Talpra  Magyar !  "  ^ 
Early  in  the  morning  we  assembled  in  my  room 
by  lamplight.  There  were  four  of  us — Petofi,  Paul 
Vasvary,  Julius  Bulyovszky,  and  myself.  My  com- 
panions entrusted  me  with  the  drawing  up  of  the 
Pest  Articles  in  a  short  popular  form  intelligible  to 
everybody'.  While  I  was  thus  occupied,  they  were 
disputing  about  what  should  happen  next.  The 
most  violent  of  them  was  Paul  Vasvary,  who  had 
the  figure  of  a  mighty  young  athlete.  In  his  hand 
was  a  sword-stick  with  a  horn  handle,  which  he  was 
flourishing  about  in  a  martial  manner,  when,  all  at 
once,  the  jolted  stiletto  flew  from  its  case,  and  turn- 

*  The  old  coronation  city  of  Hungary,  but  more  of  a  Ger- 
man than  a  Magyar  city  then. — Tr. 

'  It  was  an  Austrian  fortress.— Tb.     '  "  Up!  Magyar,  up!" 


120  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

ing  a  somersault,  flew  through  the  air  over  my 
head  and  struck  the  wall. 

"  A  lucky  omen !  "  cried  Petofi. 

The  proclamation  was  ready.  We  hastened  into 
the  street.  We  said  nothing  to  Madame  Petofi. 
Every  one  of  us  had  arms  of  some  sort.  I  pocketed 
the  famous  duplex  pistol  already  mentioned. 

Every  one  knows  ad  nauseam  what  followed — how 
the  human  avalanche  began  to  move,  how  it  grew, 
and  what  speeches  we  made  in  the  great  square. 
But  speech-making  was  not  sufficient,  we  wanted 
to  do  something.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to 
give  practical  application  to  the  doctrine  of  a  free 
press.  We  resolved  to  print  the  Twelve  Articles  of 
Pest,  the  Proclamation,  and  the  "  Talpra  Magyar  " 
without  the  consent  of  the  censor. 

The  printing  press  of  Landerer  and  Heckenast 
was  honoured  with  this  compulsory  distinction. 
The  printers  were  naturally  not  justified  in  printing 
anything  without  permission  from  the  authorities, 
so  we  turned  up  our  sleeves  and  worked  away  at 
the  hand-presses  ourselves.  The  name  of  the  type- 
setter who  set  up  the  first  word  of  freedom  was 
PotemJcin. 

While  Irinyi  and  other  young  authors  were  work- 
ing away  at  the  press,  it  was  my  duty  to  harangue 
the  mob  that  thronged  the  whole  length  of  Hatvani 
Street.  I  had  no  idea  how  to  set  about  it,  but  it 
came  of  its  own  accord. 

My  worthy  and  loyal  contemporary,  Paul  Szon- 


THE  WOMAN  WHO  WENT  ALONG  WITH  ME    121 

tagh,  occasionally  quotes  to  me,  even  now,  some  of 
the  heaven-storming  phrases  which  he  heard  me 
say  on  that  occasion;  e.g.^  "  .  .  .  No!  fellow- 
citizens;  he  is  not  the  true  hero  who  can  die  for 
his  country ;  he  who  can  slay  for  his  country,  he  is 
the  true  hero  !  " 

That  was  the  sort  of  oratory  I  used  to  practise  in 
those  days ! 

Meanwhile  the  rain  began  to  fall,  and  rain  is  the 
most  reactionary  opponent  of  every  revolution. 
But  my  people  were  not  to  be  dispersed  by  the 
rain,  and  all  at  once  the  whole  street  was  filled 
with  expanded  umbrellas. 

"What  !  gentlemen,"  thundered  I  from  the 
corner  of  the  street,  "  if  you  stick  up  your  umbrellas 
now  against  mere  rain-drops,  what  will  you  stick  up 
against  the  bullets  which  will  presently  begin  to 
fall  ?  " 

It  was  only  then  that  I  noticed  that  there  were 
not  onl}'^  gentlemen  around  me  but  ladies  also.  A 
pair  of  them  had  insinuated  themselves  close  to  my 
side.  In  one  of  them  I  recognised  "  Queen  Ger- 
trude." ^  On  her  head  she  wore  a  plumed  cap,  and 
was  wrapped  up  in  a  Persian  shawl  embroidered 
with  palm-tree  flowers.  Both  cap  and  shawl  were 
dripping  with  rain.  I  had  met  the  lady  once  or 
twice  at  the  Szigligetis'.  I  exhorted  the  ladies  to 
go  home  ;  here  they  would  get  dripping-wet,  I  said, 
and  some  other  accident  might  befall  them. 
*  i.e.,  the  actress  who  took  that  part 


122  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  "We  are  no  worse  o£f  here  than  you  are,"  was  the 

reply. 

They  were  determined  to  wait  till  the  printed 
broad-sides  were  ready. 

Not  very  long  afterwards  Irinyi  appeared  at  the 
window  of  the  printiag-oflSce,  for  to  get  out  of  the 
door  was  a  sheer  impossibility.  He  held  in  his 
hands  the  first  printed  sheets  from  the  free  press. 

Ah,  that  scene !  when  the  very  first  free  sheets 
were  distributed  from  hand  to  hand !  I  cannot 
describe  it.  "  Freedom,  freedom  !  "  It  was  the 
first  ray  of  a  new  and  better  era !  .  .  .  A  free 
press  !  the  first-fruit  of  the  universal  tree  of  know- 
ledge of  Paradise.  "What  a  tumult  arose  when  they 
actually  clutched  that  forbidden  fruit  in  their 
hands.  .  .  .  Hail  to  thee,  0  Freedom  of  the 
Press !  Thou  seven-headed  dragon,  how  many 
times  hast  thou  not  bitten  me  since  then  !  Yet 
I  bless  the  hour  when  I  first  saw  thee  creep 
out  of  thy  egg  and  gave  thee  what  little  help  I 
could  ! 

Young  authors,  clerks,  advocates,  all  hot-headed 
young  people,  crowded  around  the  invisible  banner. 

A  young  <iounty  official  was  now  seen  forcing 
his  way  through  the  dense  crowd  right  to  the 
ver^'  door  of  the  printing-office,  and  from  thence 
he  addressed  me.  The  influential  Vice-Lieutenant 
of  the  County,  Paul  Nyary,  sent  word  to  me  that 
I  was  to  go  to  him  to  the  town  hall. 

"  Why  should  I  go  ?  "  cried  I  from  my  point  of 


THE  WOMAN  WHO  WENT  ALONG  WITH  ME    123 

vantage.  "  I'll  be  shot  down  with  cannon-balls 
rather !  If  the  Vice-Lieutenant  of  the  County 
■wants  to  speak  to  us,  let  him  come  here.  "We  are 
the  '  mountain '  now." 

And  Mohammed  really  did  come  to  the  "  moun- 
tain," and  with  him  came  a  group  of  grave-faced 
men,  the  veteran  leaders  of  the  camp  of  freedom. 

Amongst  them  was  a  dwarfish  little  oddity  of 
a  man,  the  assistant  editor  of  the  EletTcepek,  the 
gallant  little  Stikey,  who,  despite  a  chronic  asthma, 
fought  through  the  whole  campaign,  musket  in 
hand.  Besides  being  a  cripple,  he  was  a  really 
extraordinary  stammerer.  When  he  saw  the  grave- 
visaged  men  making  their  way  to  us  through  the 
crowd,  he  scrambled  along  beside  them,  and  with 
all  the  force  of  his  lungs  bellowed  out  this  notable 
declaration  :  "  D-d-d-don't  li-li-li-listen  to  those  wi- 
wi-wi- wiseacres ! " 

But  the  wiseacres  hadn't  come  to  convert  us  to 
wisdom.  On  the  contrary,  Nyary  had  come  to 
approve  of  what  we  had  done  hitherto,  and  then 
to  go  together  with  us  to  the  town  hall,  that  they 
might  there,  together  with  the  town  councillors, 
ratify  the  Articles  of  the  liberal  programme. 

It  was  a  fine  scene.  The  town  hall  was  crammed 
to  suffocation.  Those  who  were  called  upon  to 
speak  stood  upon  the  green  table,  and  remained 
there  afterwards,  so  that  at  last  the  whole  magistracy 
of  the  county,  and  I  and  all  my  colleagues  were 
standing  on  the    top  of   the  table.      The  flames 


124  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

spread !  The  burgomaster,  the  worthy  Eotterbiller, 
announced  from  the  balcony  of  the  town  hall,  that 
the  town  of  Pest  had  adopted  the  Twelve  Articles 
as  its  own ;  and  with  that  the  avalanche  carried  the 
whole  of  the  burgesses  along  with  it.  But  the 
matter  did  not  end  even  there.  In  the  evening 
crowds  of  workmen  inundated  the  streets.  They 
had  got  from  somewhere  or  other  a  banner,  in- 
scribed with  the  three  sacred  words,  "  Liberty, 
Equality,  Fraternity ! " 

.  .  .  Such  a  great  day  must  needs  have  a 
brilliant  close,  so  the  town  was  illuminated  in  the 
evening,  and  a  free  performance  was  given  at  the 
theatre,  Bdnk-hdn  ^  being  the  piece  selected.  But 
the  mob,  which  by  this  time  was  in  a  state  of 
ecstasy,  had  no  longer  the  patience  to  listen  to  the 
pious  declamations  of  Ban  Peter.  It  called  for 
"  Talpra  Magyar." 

"What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  brilliant  court  of 
King  Andrew  IE.,  with  the  Queen  and  Bank-ban 
to  boot,  had  to  stand  aside  and  form  a  group  round 
Q-abriel  Egressy,  who,  in  a  simple  attila,  with  a 
sword  by  his  side,  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  stage 
and  declaimed  with  magnificent  emphasis  Petofi's 
inspiring  poem. 

That  was  all  very  well,  but  it  was  not  enough. 

Then  the  whole  company  sang  the  "  Szozato," 
and  the  people  in  the  pit  and  the  galleries  joined  in. 

That  also  was  soon  over. 

*  Joseph  Katona's  celebrated  tragedy. 


THE  WOMAN  WHO  WEN!  ALONG  WITH  ME    125 

What  shall  we  give  next  ? 

The  band  struck  up  the  Rakoczy  ^  march.  That 
kindled  the  excitement,  instead  of  extinguishing  it. 
And  it  was  high  time  that  something  should  be 
done  to  quench  it,  for  the  excited  populace  was 
drunk  with  triumph. 

Then  a  voice  from  the  gallery  cried:  "Long  live 
Tancsis !  "  ^ 

And  with  that  the  whole  populace  suddenly 
roared  with  one  voice :  "  Let  us  see  Tancsis !  " 

A  frightful  tumult  arose.  Tancsis  was  not  at 
hand.  He  lived  some  way  out  in  the  suburb  of 
Ferenczvaros.  But  even  had  he  been  near,  it  would 
have  been  a  cruel  thing  to  have  dragged  on  the 
stage  a  worn-out  invalid,  that  he  might  merely  bow 
to  the  public  like  a  celebrated  musician. 

But  what  was  to  be  done  ? 

"  WeU,  my  sons,"  said  Nyary,  with  whom  I  was 
standing  in  the  same  box,  "  you  have  awakened  this 
great  monster,  now  see  if  you  can  put  him  to  sleep 
again ! " 

My  young  friends  attempted  to  address  the  people 
one  after  the  other,  Petofi  from  the  Academy  box, 
Irinyi  from  the  balcony  of  the  Casino  club,  but 
their  voices  were  drowned  in  the  howling  of  the 
mob.    The  curtain  was  let   down,   but  then  the 

^  Prohibited  in  Hungary  at  this  time  as  being  of  revolu- 
tionary tendency. 

^  Michal  Tancsis,  a  prisoner  who  had  been  released  from 
the  citadel  of  Buda  the  same  morning  by  the  mob. 


126  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

tumult  was  worse  than  ever  ;  the  gallery  stamped 
like  mad  ;  it  was  a  perfect  pandemonium. 

Then  a  thought  occurred  to  me.  I  could  get  on 
to  the  stage  from  Nyary's  box  ;  I  rushed  in  through 
the  side  wings. 

I  cut  a  pretty  figure  I  must  say.  I  was  splashed 
up  to  the  knees  with  mud  from  scouring  the  streets 
all  day.  I  wore  huge,  dirty  overshoes,  my  tall  hat 
was  drenched,  so  that  I  could  easily  have  made  a 
crush-hat  of  it  and  carried  it  under  my  arm. 

I  looked  around  me  and  perceived  Egressy.  I  told 
him  to  draw  up  the  curtain,  I  wanted  to  harangue 
the  people  from  the  stage. 

Then  "  Queen  Gertrude  "  came  towards  me.  She 
smiled  upon  me  with  truly  majestic  grace,  greeted 
me  and  pressed  my  hand.  No  sign  of  fear  was  to 
be  seen  in  her  face.  She  was  wearing  the  tri- 
coloured  cockade  ^  on  her  bosom,  and,  of  her  own 
accord,  she  took  it  off  and  pinned  it  on  my  breast. 
Then  the  curtain  was  raised. 

When  the  mob  beheld  my  drenched  and  muddy 
figure,  it  began  to  shout  afresh,  and  the  uproar 
gradually  became  a  call  for  every  one  to  hear  me. 
When  at  last  I  was  able  to  make  my  voice  heard, 
I  came  out  with  the  following  oratorical  master- 
piece :  "  Brother  citizens  !  our  friend  Tancsis  is  not 
here.  He  is  at  home  in  the  bosom  of  his  family. 
Allow  the  poor  blind  man  to  taste  the  joy  of  seeing 
his  family  once  more  !  " 

*  Red,  white,  and  green,  the  Hungarian  colours. 


THE  WOMAN  WHO  WENT  ALONG  WITH  ME    127 

It  was  only  then  that  I  felt  I  was  talking  non- 
sense. How  could  a  "  hlind  man  "  see  his  family  ? 
If  the  mob  began  to  laugh  I  should  be  done  for ! 

It  was  the  tricoloured  ribbon  that  saved  me. 

"Do  you  see,"  I  cried,  "this  tricoloured  cockade 
on  my  breast  ?  Let  it  be  the  badge  of  this  glorious 
day !  Let  every  man  who  is  Freedom's  warrior 
wear  it  ;  it  will  distinguish  us  from  the  hireling 
host  of  slavery !  These  three  colours  represent  the 
three  sacred  words :  Liberty,  Equality,  Fraternity ! 
Let  every  one  in  whom  Hungarian  blood  and  a  free 
spirit  burns  wear  them  on  his  breast." 

And  so  the  thing  was  done. 

The  tricoloured  cockade  preserved  order.  Who- 
ever wished  to  pin  on  the  tricoloured  cockade  had 
to  hurry  home  first.  Ten  minutes  later  the  theatre 
was  empty,  and  next  day  the  tricoloured  cockade 
was  to  be  seen  on  every  breast,  from  the  paletots  of 
the  members  of  the  Casino  ^  to  the  buckram  of  the 
populace,  and  those  who  went  about  with  mantles 
on  wore  the  cockade  in  their  hats. 

In  the  intoxication  of  my  triumph  I  hastened  after 
Rosa  Laborfalvy  as  soon  as  this  scene  was  over,  and 
pressed  her  hand. 

With  that  pressure  of  our  hands  our  engagement 
began. 

I  have  recorded  the  whole  of  this  episode  in  order 
to  explain  how  it  was  that  tliat  portrait  found  its 
way  to  my  table,  which  was  able  to  convert  in  an 
^  The  Nobles'  club. 


128  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

instant  the  smiling  face  of  the  lady  with  the  eyes 
like  the  sea  into  the  hideous  features  of  Iblis.  Four 
months  had  passed  away  since  then. 

And  the  honeymoon  was  in  keeping  with  the 
engagement.  The  roar  of  cannon  and  the  clash  of 
swords  was  the  music  that  played  at  my  wedding. 

Oh  what  a  marriage  night  was  that ! 

At  the  very  moment  when  the  happy  bridegroom 
asks  his  bride,  "  Dost  thou  love  me  as  I  love  thee  ?  " 
at  that  veiy  moment  there  is  the  roll  of  drums  in 
the  streets,  and  the  cry  goes  forth,  "  To  arms,  citi- 
zens ! "  An  Italian  regiment  had  revolted  against 
the  Hungarian  Government.  Without  waiting  for 
a  kiss  or  an  embrace,  I  had  to  snatch  up  my  musket 
and  hurry  off  to  the  place  of  meeting,  and  thence  to 
go  straight  into  fire  among  the  flying  bullets.  We 
had  to  storm  the  Karoly  Barracks.  By  dawn  the 
mutinous  regiment  had  to  lay  down  its  weapons, 
and  the  bridegroom,  with  his  face  sooty  with  smoke, 
returned  home,  and  again  put  the  question  to  his 
bride,  "  Dost  thou  love  me  as  I  love  thee  ?  " 

And  the  answer  ?  Ah !  the  heart  alone  can  feel 
it,  the  lips  cannot  express  it. 

That  was  our  honeymoon.  With  the  shame  of 
lost  battles  in  our  hearts,  and  despairing  even  of 
divine  justice,  those  who  can  love  under  such  cir- 
cumstances must  love  dearly  indeed  ! 

And  then  out  into  the  desolate  world,  in  the 
midst  of  a  Siberian  winter,  with  everything  crack- 
ling with  cold  in  a  night  lit  only  by  the  blaze  of 


THE  WOMAN  WHO  WENT  ALONG  WITH  ME    129 

artillery,  forcing  one's  way  along  through  the  snowy 
deserts  of  the  Alfold  ^  with  the  retreating  Honved  ^ 
army !  Passing  the  night  in  an  inhospitable  hut 
where  the  closed  door  had  frozen  to  the  ground  by 
morning,  and  the  roll  of  drums  and  the  blare  of 
trumpets  aroused  us  to  toil  on  still  farther !  Those 
who  can  love  under  such  circumstances  must  love 
indeed ! 

My  wife  went  everywhere  with  me. 

She  quitted  a  comfortable  home,  sacrificed  a  for- 
tune, a  brilliant  career,  to  endure  hunger,  cold,  and 
hardship  with  me.  And  I  never  heard  her  utter 
one  word  of  complaint.  When  I  was  downhearted, 
she  comforted  me.  And  when  all  my  hopes  were 
stifled,  she  shared  her  hopes  with  me.  At  the  new 
seat  of  the  Hungarian  Government,  Debreczin,  we 
were  huddled  together  in  a  tiny  little  room,  com- 
pared with  which  the  hut  of  Peter  Gyuricza  was  a 
palace  from  the  Thousayid-and-one  Nights.  And  my 
queen  worked  like  -a  slave,  like  the  wife  of  a  Siberian 
convict.  She  worked  not  for  a  joke,  not  in  sheer 
defiance ;  she  did  not  play  the  part  of  a  peasant  girl, 
she  was  a  serving-woman  in  grim  earnest. 

The  hazard  of  the  die  of  war  changed.  We  ad- 
vanced. We  marched  in  triumph  from  one  battle- 
field to  another.     I  was  present  at  the  storming  of 

*  The  low-land.  The  name  given  to  the  great  Hungarian 
plain. 

*  Defending  the  country.  The  title  of  the  Hungarian 
national  forces. 


130  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

the  citadel  of  Buda.  Even  in  those  awful  days  she 
never  left  me,  when  every  night  the  sky  seemed 
about  to  plunge  down  upon  our  heads. 

The  brilliant  days  of  triumph  were  again  suc- 
ceeded by  misfortune.  The  Northern  ogre  ^  threw . 
all  his  legions  upon  us.  Again  we  had  to  fly,  to 
leave  our  happy  hut,  and  continue  our  marriage 
tour  through  desolate  wildernesses,  where  savage 
hordes  had  devastated  whole  villages.  Our  night's 
lodging  was  four  bare  sooty  walls,  our  couch  a 
bundle  of  charred  straw.  Hated  by  strangers,  feared 
by  acquaintances,  we  were  a  terror  to  the  people 
from  whom  we  begged  a  shelter. 

The  chaos  of  war  finally  parted  us.  I  insisted 
that  she  should  remain  away  from  me.  I  could  not 
endure  to  see  her  suffering  any  longer.  It  was  not 
right  that  I  should  accept  such  sacrifices.  I  bade 
her  leave  me  to  meet  my  fate  alone. 

After  the  catastrophe  of  Vilagos*  my  life  was 
ended.  That  mighty  giant,  the  famous  Hungary 
of  our  dreams,  collapsed  into  atoms :  her  great  men 
became  grains  of  dust. 

I  also  became  a  nameless,  weightless,  aimless 
grain  of  dust. 

The  end  of  all  things  had  arrived.  The  prophecy 
of  the  lady  with  the  eyes  like  the  sea  lay  literally 

*  Pastliewich,  by  command  of  the  Tzar,  invaded  Hungary 
in  1849,  with  100,000  men. 

'  When  the  Hungarian  Commander-in-chief  finally  capitu- 
lated to  the  Russians. 


THE  WOMAN  WHO  WENT  ALONG  WITH  ME    131 

fulfilled  before  me.  Either  the  gibbet  or  suicide 
was  to  be  my  fate.  I  was  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
and  a  dead  man.  My  former  chief,  the  brave 
Catonian,  Joseph  Molnar,  the  president  of  the 
national  court  martial,  had  set  me  the  example.  He 
lay  before  me  on  the  sward  of  Vilagos,  slain  by  his 
own  hand.  The  last  hussar  breaking  his  sword  was 
a  spectacle  he  could  not  bear  to  survive.  Then  it 
was  that  a  burning  hand  seized  my  hand.  It  was 
hers,  the  hand  of  the  woman  who  loved  me.  When 
all  was  lost,  her  love  was  not  lost.  She  came  after 
me.  She  took  me  with  her.  She  set  me  free. 
When  all  Hungary  was  already  subdued,  there  was 
still  one  corner  in  our  native  land  where  the  hand 
of  authority  never  came.  She  discovered  that 
comer,  and  led  me  thither  with  her  through  every 
hostile  camp. 
That  was  "the  woman  who  went  along  with  me." 


CHAPTER  X 

WHERE   THE   WORLD   IS   WALLED  UP 

TT  required  quite  a  strategical  combination  to 
-*-  transport  me  from  the  town  of  Vilagos  to  where 
the  world  is  boarded  up. 

This  place  was  selected  for  me  by  my  wife  while 
she  was  already  in  Pest,  whence  on  the  approach  of 
the  catastrophe  she  set  out  from  home  on  a  peasant's 
car  to  seek  me  up  and  down  the  kingdom.  For  a 
time  she  travelled  with  the  wife  of  Alexander  Korosy, 
who  set  her  on  my  track.  At  the  storming  of 
Szeged  in  we  were  all  within  an  ace  of  being  blown 
into  the  air  by  the  explosion  of  a  powder  magazine. 

It  was  a  little  village  called  Tordona,  deep  in  the 
beech  forests  of  Barsod,  the  name  of  which  was  not 
even  to  be  found  on  the  chart  of  Francis  Karacs.^ 
Here  the  celebrated  comedian  and  scene-painter  of 
the  National  Theatre,  Telepi,  had  built  a  house  with 
the  intention  of  seeking  an  asylum  there  with  his 
family  in  troublous  times.  When  the  Russians 
came,  he  sent  thither  his  wife  and  his  son  Charles, 
who  was  then  a  young  artist  sludent.  Telepi  gave 
my  wife  this  sage  piece  of  advice.     "  When  the 

»  The  first  Hungarian  engraver  (1769-1838).  His  cele- 
brated map  of  Hungary  was  fii-st  published  in  1813. 

133 


WHERE   THE    WORLD  IS    WALLED    UP     133 

bottom  of  the  world  falls  out,  take  your  husband 
where  nobody  will  find  him."  Tordona  had  taken 
no  part  in  the  Revolution.  .  .  .  The  journey 
was  quite  an  Odyssey.  In  a  small  covered  peasant's 
car  a  lady  conveys  water-melons  to  market ;  the 
coachman  and  the  footman  sit  in  front  together. 
The  footman  is  myself,  the  coachman  Janos  Rakoczy, 
who  only  the  day  before  was  Kossuth's  secretary. 
The  price  of  water-melons  was  a  silver  iizes  ^  a-piece. 
Our  heads  were  not  worth  so  much  as  that.  The 
way  fi'om  Vilagos  to  Bekes-Giynila  is  long,  and  the 
whole  way  we  were  going  straight  towards  the 
advancing  Russian  host.  Cossacks,  lancers,  infantry, 
artillery,  gun-carriages,  met  us  at  every  step,  and 
yet  nobody  asked  us  the  price  of  those  melons  or  the 
price  of  those  heads.  It  was  only  the  two  splendid 
horses  in  front  of  our  car  which,  might  have 
raised  suspicions  that  we  were  not  itinerant  market- 
gardeners,  although  Rakoczy  wore  the  genuine  blue 
livery  of  a  coachman.  "When  we  got  into  the 
domain  of  swamp  and  rushes,  a  mounted  ictydr^ 
took  us  under  his  protection,  and  guarded  us  along 
paths  where  a  carriage  had  never  yet  gone,  where 
our  horses  repeatedly  waded  up  to  their  breasts  in 
water,  till  we  fought  our  way  through  into  the 
endless  plain.  He  would  take  nothing  from  us  but 
a  "  God  bless  you !  " 

Our  dear  friend  Janos  Rakoczy,  as  an  old  country 
gentleman,  was  a  capital  coachman  so  long  as  he 
*  The  tenth  of  a  florin.  *  A  peasant  drover. 


134  kVES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

had  only  to  guide  the  horses,  but  that  part  of  tlie 
stableman's  science  which  deals  with  harnessing  and 
unharnessing  he  had  never  learnt  So  when  we 
came  to  a  place  in  the  sweltering  heat  of  the  dog- 
days  after  a  long  drive  through  the  vast  plain,  the 
very  first  thing  he  did  was  to  let  the  unharnessed 
horses  immediately  drink  their  fill  at  the  spring,  and 
then  tie  them  up  in  the  stable,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  shaft  horse  caught  inflammation  of  the 
lungs,  and  expired  an  hour  afterwards.  The  saddle 
horse  survived  as  by  a  miracle.  Instead  of  the 
deceased  horse,  therefore,  we  had  to  harness  another 
nag,  which  we  picked  up  on  the  road  for  100  florins. 
This  new  horse  was  a  hand  and  a  half  smaller  than 
the  steed  that  still  remained  with  us.  With  this 
slap-dash  team  nobody  would  have  taken  us  any 
longer  for  gentry. 

We  had  still  to  pass  through  Miskolcz,  where  the 
Russians  were  encamping.  Here  dwelt  my  wife's 
father,  the  wise  and  worthy  professor  Benke  Labor- 
falvy.  He  pointed  out  to  us  the  road  which  led  into 
Tordona.  Five  hours  long  we  penetrated  through 
dense  forests :  not  a  human  dwelling  place,  not  a 
beaten  tract  was  to  be  seen.  A  stream  cut  through 
the  winding  valley  and  along  its  bank,  shifting  now 
to  the  right  hand  and  now  to  the  left,  a  sort  of  path 
wound  its  way  naturally,  without  anything  like  a 
bridge  ;  for  the  convenience  of  foot  passengers,  huge 
stones  at  irregular  intervals  had  been  cast  into  the 
bed  of  the  racing  stream.    There,  in  a  deeply  hidden, 


WHERE  THE   WORLD  IS  WALLED  UP     135 

delightfal  valley,  lay  the  little  spot  whicli  is  walled 
off  from  the  world. 

My  wife  and  I  descended  at  the  Telepi's  house 
and  were  heartily  welcomed  by  our  worthy  hostess. 
Rakoczy,  with  his  equipage,  had  to  be  lodged  in 
another  house.  Madame  Telepi's  brother,  my 
tenderly  remembered  good  friend,  the  worthy  Beni 
Csanyi,  dwelt  in  a  house  a  little  farther  off.  It  was 
he  who  stabled  the  horses.     Later  on  I  joined  him. 

He  was  really  a  model  of  a  "  small  country  gentle- 
man," such  as  they  ought  to  be  nowadays.  An 
accomplished,  intelligent  man,  speaking,  besides  his 
own  language,  Latin  and  German,  with  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  law,  for  which  he  had  been  trained, 
and  who,  for  all  that,  now  went  out  and  ploughed 
his  own  land  with  the  aid  of  a  man-servant.  He 
ate  his  home-made  bread,  drank  his  home-brewed 
wine,  welcomed  guests  with  all  his  heart,  and  slew 
a  sheep  or  a  pig  in  their  honour.  His  wife  baked 
and  brewed,  led  the  way  at  the  spindle,  and  sewed 
her  children's  clothes  with  her  own  hand.  They 
had  three  sons,  and  the  little  money  that  flowed 
into  the  domestic  coffers  was  spent  in  the  schooling 
of  the  children.  Csauyi  never  borrows,  and  owes 
no  man  anything.  His  work-room  is  a  joiner  and 
wheelwright's  shed ;  when  anything  breaks  in  the 
wagon  he  mends  it  himself :  it  is  his  pet  pastime. 
He  has  a  library  also,  full  of  such  books  as  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  historical  work  on  the  French 
Revolutionary  Wars.     Newspapers  he  never  reads 


136  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

If,  again,  a  poem  pleases  him,  he  learns  it  by  heart, 
and  passes  it  on  further  by  word  of  mouth.  He 
never  goes  to  law  with  his  neighbour,  and  when 
two  fall  out  he  makes  peace  between  them.  But 
when  the  cry  goes  forth,  "  The  fatherland  is  in 
danger!  Let  us  make  sacrifices  for  the  common- 
weal ! "  then  he  cuts  the  large  silver  buttons  off 
his  mantle,  and  lays  them  on  the  altar  of  his 
country. 

I  owe  it  for  the  most  part  to  this  worthy  man  that 
I  did  not  lose  my  reason  altogether  in  these  hard 
times. 

Thus  we  arrived  hither.  I  was  saved.  I  was  no 
longer  a  dead  man.     I  lived. 

But  what  sort  of  a  life  was  it  ?  It  was  the  sort 
of  life  which  belongs  to  a  new-bom  babe :  absolute 
inability  to  help  one's  self.  Rakoczy  quitted  us  on 
the  following  day.  He  was  off  to  the  Carpathians. 
There  he  took  service  as  coachman  (naturally  under 
an  assumed  name)  in  the  family  of  a  wealthy  terri- 
torial Count.  They  were  more  than  contented  with 
him,  for  he  was  an  excellent  and  honest  coachman. 
But  one  day  a  strange  misadventure  befell  him.  He 
was  taking  the  Count  and  his  brother-in-law  out  for 
a  drive,  when  the  gentleman  began  talking  of  the 
era  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  one  of  them  could  not  call 
to  mind  the  name  of  a  celebrated  statesman  of  those 
days.  Then  the  coachman  could  not  help  turning 
round  towards  them,  and  saying,  "  Colbert !  "  The 
Counts  immediately  dismounted  from  the  coach  and 


WHERE   THE    WORLD  IS   WALLED   UP     137 

went  home  on  foot.  The  learned  coachman,  how- 
ever, was  discharged.  It  is  not  good  to  sleep  under 
the  same  roof  with  a  coachman  who  knows  so 
much. 

My  wife  and  I  agreed  that  she  should  return  to 
Pest  and  resume  her  engagement  at  the  National 
Theatre  there  till  I  should  get  back  my  patrimony. 
Then  we  would  purchase  a  little  property  in  the 
depths  of  the  beech  forest,  close  to  Beni  Csanyi,  and 
plough  and  sow  to  the  end  of  our  days.  What  else 
could  we  do  ?  Our  country,  our  nation,  our  liberty 
were  now  no  more.  Our  souls  had  no  wings.  We 
stuck  fast  in  the  mire. 

On  the  very  anniversary  of  our  wedding,  which 
was  my  wife's  birthday  as  well,  we  parted.  Our 
wedding  tour  had  lasted  exactly  a  year.  I  wish 
nobody  such  another,  but  I  would  not  exchange  all 
the  joys  in  the  world  for  the  recollection  of  it. 

I  remained  behind  in  a  vast  primeval  forest,  en- 
tombed, forgotten. 

The  latest  rumours  I  got  from  worthy  Beni 
Csanyi,  who  had  taken  my  wife  to  Pest,  driving  his 
four  horses  himself  all  the  way  from  his  stable  door 
to  the  capital.  They  were  evil  times  there.  Hay- 
nau  had  appropriated  even  the  National  Theatre  for 
the  German  players.  But  the  director,  worthy 
Janos  Simoncsics,  formerly  a  Conservative  celebrity, 
protested  against  the  proceedings  of  the  high- 
handed tyrant,  and  when  Haynau  began  to  haggle 
with  the  stiff-necked  old  magistrate  as  to  how  many 


188  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

days  a  week  he  would  allow  the  German  players  to 
act  in  the  Hungarian  National  Theatre,  brave  old 
Simoncsics  replied  in  his  own  peculiar  Buda- 
German  :  "  Wen  i  reden  musz,  so  sag  i :  amol ;  wen 
i  reden  darf^  so  sag  i :  komol."  ^  And  "  komol  " '  it 
remained. 

•  My  wife  counselled  me  not  to  write  to  her 
through  the  post-office,  as  the  whole  town  was  full 
of  spies.  When  she  wrote  to  me  she  would  send  the 
letter  to  her  father  at  Miskolcz,  directed  to  Judith 
Benke. 

Even  now  I  often  draw  out  those  Zove-letters 
which  were  written  to  me  and  began  "  My  dear 
Juczi."'  Even  now  they  light  up  that  endless 
darkness  which  I  call  the  cancelled  portion  of  my 
life. 

From  August  to  the  middle  of  October  I  knew 
absolutely  nothing  of  what  was  going  on  in  the 
world. 

It  was  a  comer  of  the  earth  where  no  visitor 
ever  came,  and  where  the  inhabitants  themselves 
went  nowhere.  Now  that  winter  was  approaching, 
there  would  be  a  sledge  drive,  and  communica- 
tions would  be  opened  up  between  Tordona  and 
Miskolcz.  Then  one  would  be  able  to  convey  tim- 
ber into  the  town.  Of  timber  there  was  no  lack. 
Csanyi  had  four  hundred  acres  of  virgin  forest  to 
forty  acres  of  arable  land. 

*  If  I  must  speak :  once ;  ill  may  speak :  not  at  all. 
■  Not  once.  •  Contraction  for  Judith. 


WHERE   THE   WORLD  IS   WALLED    UP     139 

Day  after  day  I  rambled  up  and  down  these 
forests  that  had  never  heard  the  voice  of  man. 
Never  did  I  meet  a  fellow  creature.  However 
many  heights  I  might  ascend,  I  saw  from  thence 
nothing  but  the  smoking  chimneys  of  Tordona. 
I  discovered  the  source  of  the  stream  that  sped 
through  the  valley.  "  Linden-spring "  was  the 
name  they  gave  it.  It  was  entirely  circled  by 
lindens.  I  hit  upon  the  childish  sport  of  cutting 
a  water-mill  out  of  elder-tree  wood,  piecing  it  to- 
gether, and  placing  it  across  the  little  stream.  Thus 
I  amused  myself. 

One  day  I  received  a  box  of  water-colours  from 
my  wife.  I  was  immensely  delighted.  I  now  had 
something  to  occupy  myself  with  all  day.  I  filled 
a  whole  album  with  my  landscapes.  Then  I  painted 
that  journey  through  the  plain  with  a  horse  and  a 
half  in  the  covered  car.  I  pc^inted  my  own  portrait 
on  a  piece  of  paper  no  bigger  than  a  finger-nail, 
which  could  be  inserted  in  a  medallion.  I  sent  it  to 
my  wife,  Beni  Csanyi's  wife  asked  me  to  paint  her 
a  portrait  of  her  "  old  man  "  also.  She  wanted  it 
about  the  size  of  a  kidney  bean  ;  she  had  a  medal- 
lion just  as  large  as  that.  This  was  my  only  work 
in  that  terrible  year. 


CHAPTER  XI 

VALENTINE   BALVANYOSSI   AND   TTHAMES  EENGETEGl 

TT7HEN  the  beech-mast  began  to  fall  from  the 
^  •  trees  in  the  beginning  of  October,  un- 
expected guests  came  to  us  at  Tordona — two  country 
gentlemen  from  the  beechwood  district.  They  were 
kinsmen  keeping  house  together,  whose  whole  estate 
consisted  of  forest,  and  whose  whole  economy  was 
an  enormous  herd  of  swine.  They  were  both  jolly 
thick-set  men,  with  fur  pelisses  of  nicely  embroidered 
sheepskins,  and  boots  of  red  Russian  leather.  They 
had  come  to  rent  the  beech-mast  district  in  the 
Tordona  forests.  Pig  just  then  was  an  article  not 
quoted  in  the  market.  Hungarian  money  there 
was  none.  It  had  all  been  destroyed.  German 
money  had  not  yet  been  introduced.  Pig-rearers 
were  therefore  obliged  to  let  their  herds  go  into 
winter  quarters.  The  pigs  in  question  were  really 
fine  fellows  of  the  good  old  Szalonta  breed,  with  legs 
as  long  as  stags',  red  bristles  and  pointed  ears ;  they 
were  half-savage  beasts,  too,  who  faced  the  wolf  in- 
stead of  fleeing  from  him.  They  develop  but  slowly, 
however ;  only  after  two  years'  time  do  they  become 
as  large  as  the  Mangalicza  swine.  But  they  more 
than  atone  for  this  fault   by  the  good  quality  of 

140 


VALENTINE  BALVANYOSSI  AND   TIHAMER     Ui 

wanting  neither  stall  nor  sty ;  winter  and  summer 
alike  they  camp  out  in  the  woods  and  seek  their 
own  food,  thus  costing  their  masters  no  more  than 
two  florins  a  head,  and  three  pints  oi  jgalbika^  which 
is  the  perquisite  of  the  swine-herd.  Each  of  these 
kinsmen  had  a  thousand  of  such  pigs. 

And  a  thousand  pigs  give  a  man  a  lot  to  think 
about. 

They  were  good,  genial  fellows.  In  fact,  they 
knew  not  what  melancholy  meant.  It  was  now  the 
season  when  the  new  wine  was  beginning  to  ferment. 
The  two  kinsmen  used  to  drink  it  in  that  state,  and 
I  joined  them.  It  went  very  well  with  well-peppered 
swine  stew. 

They  brought  a  new  song  with  them  also,  and  I 
learnt  it. 

"  The  milk-pail  stood  behind  the  door, 
The  Gendarme  came,  flopped  in  and  swore ! 
Darum-madarum,  darum-madarum ! " 

From  this  song  I  gathered  that  there  was  now  a 
being  in  the  world  called  Gendarme,^  and  also  that 
the  Magyars  had  no  very  great  affection  for  him. 

It  was  only  after  supper  that  the  guests  began  to 
give  me  to  understand  that  they  did  not  yet  know 
"  whom  they  had  the  honour  of  addressing." 

My  worthy  host  constrained  his  honest  features, 

and  introduced  me  under  the  pseudonym  by  which 

I  was  known  in  the  village,  "  Mr.  Albert  Benke." 

'  Hungarian  brandy. 

•  Zsandar.  The  name  as  well  as  the  thing  was  quite  new 
to  Hungary.— Tr. 


142  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  Surely  not  the  actress  Rosa  Laborfalvy's  younger 
brother,  Bebus  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Bebus !  the  very  same." 

(That  might  pass  very  well.  Poor  Bebus!  he 
had  perished  in  some  out-of-the-way  comer  during 
the  war.) 

"  Why,  I  knew  him  quite  well !  I  have  a  lively 
recollection  of  his  features.  Why,  'tis  Bebus,  of 
course !  And  how's  your  sister  ?  Is  it  true  that 
she's  married  ?  " 

"  So  I  have  heard." 

"  To  a  certain  Maurus  Jokai,  eh  ?  Do  you  know 
him  ?  " 

"  I  have  never  spoken  to  him." 

(And  this  was  quite  true.) 

"You  were  one  of  those  theatre-fellows,  too,  I 
understand  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  was  an  actor,  certainly." 

"  I  saw  you  once  at  Miskolcz.  What  were  you 
playing  then  ?  " 

"  Claude  Frollo  in  the  Tower  of  Notre  Dame." 

"  And  won't  you  join  some  other  company  now  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  whether  there  is  one  to  be  found." 

"  What !  There  is  a  troupe  all  ready  at  Miskolcz 
at  the  present  moment.  They  mean  to  play  at  the 
new  theatre  during  the  coming  winter,  and  then 
they  are  going  to  Kassa.  Balvanyossi  wants  to  put 
new  blood  into  his  company.  You  know  the  director, 
Valentine  Balvanyossi,  don't  you  ?  " 

I  was  just  on  the  point  of  blurting  out  that  he 


VALENTINE  BALVANYOSSI  AND   TIHAMAr    143 

was  from  the  same  birthplace  as  myself.  He  was, 
in  fact,  the  person  who  had  coached  Bessy  in  the 
role  which  she  had  to  play  with  me  in  our  second 
dramatic  entertainment.  All  I  did  say,  however, 
was  that  I  knew  him  by  report. 

"Anyhow,  he  knows  you  very  well.  He  asks 
frequently  about  you.  If  he  only  knew  that  you 
were  loafing  about  here  he  would  certainly  come 
and  see  you." 

It  only  needed  that ! 

"  I  was  not  aware  that  he  was  able  to  collect 
together  another  troupe." 

"  Oh  dear,  yes  !  Why,  he's  got  a  prima  donna  now. 
She  is  his  wife  also.  Such  a  bonny  little  bride  ! 
She'll  turn  the  heads  of  all  the  young  fellows,  I 
know.     But  you're  in  hiding  here,  are  you  not?" 

"In  hiding?" 

"  Yes,  and  I  tell  you  what — entre  nous,  of  course — 
Balvanyossi  also  has  reason  to  make  himself  scarce." 

"Why?" 

"  Why,  because  he  played  such  a  great  part  in 
the  Revolution." 

"  /  never  heard  anything  about  it." 

"  Ah  !  but  he  might  have  been  a  famous  man  with- 
out your  hearing  anything  about  it.  You  also  were 
a  comedian  during  the  Revolution,  weren't  you  ?  " 

I  allowed  him  to  suppose  so. 

Then  the  second  kinsman  took  up  his  parable. 
He  was  better  informed  than  the  first  one. 

"  Let    me    make   things    clear    to    you,   amice  I 


144  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

During  the  Revolution,  the  theatre  director,  Valen- 
tine Balvanyossi,  acted  under  the  name  of  Tihamer 
Rengetegi." 

"  Ah  !  yes,  of  course,  I  remember  the  name." 

"  Many  a  nut  has  he  cracked  beneath  the  very 
noses  of  the  Germans." 

The  other  kinsman  confirmed  the  statement. 

"  If  they  can  only  catch  him  they'll  make  the 
wind  cool  his  heels  for  him." 

"  But  that  theatre  director  is  really  a  most  know- 
ing rogue,"  explained  the  younger  kinsman,  with  a 
laugh.  "  During  the  Revolution,  he  entered  the 
service  of  the  Hungarian  Government  and  rose  to 
be  major.  They  say  he  performed  prodigies.  But 
at  the  same  time  he  took  the  precaution  to  com- 
pletely alter  his  personal  appearance.  During  the 
Revolution  he  dyed  his  beautiful  fair  hair  a  deep 
black,  and  carefully  fostered  a  gigantic  moustache 
with  whiskers  to  correspond ;  in  that  guise  he  looked 
exactly  like  Don  Caesar  de  Bazan.  When,  however, 
things  began  to  go  wrong,  he  speedily  had  his  hair 
shaved  off  and  his  beard  also,  and  is  now  waiting  in 
retirement  till  his  original  fair  hair  has  grown 
again.  Then  he  will  once  more  come  before  the 
world  as  Valentine  Balvanyossi ;  and  who  will  dare 
to  say  that  there  was  ever  such  a  person  as  Tihamer 
Rengetegi?" 

One  really  must  admit  that  it  was  a  stroke  of 
genius  to  serve  the  Revolution  with  a  black-dyed 
head  of  hair ! 


VALENVINE  BALVANYOSSI  AND   TIHAMER    145 

"  When  he  hears  that  you  are  strolling  about 
here  he  will  most  certainly  come  and  engage  you." 

It  was  necessary  to  put  a  stop  to  this  forthwith. 

"  I  regret  that  1  shall  not  remain  here  very  long," 
I  said  ;  "  I,  too,  have  to  go  up  to  Pest." 

"  And  what  is  your  business  at  Pest  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  look  out  for  some  appointment." 

At  this,  both  the  pig-Croesuses  pulled  a  very  wry 
face.  "Whoever  went  to  Pest  in  those  days  to  seek 
an  appointment  was  looked  upon  with  suspicion. 
It  was  as  well  to  have  as  little  as  possible  to  do  with 
such  a  person.^ 

Henceforth  the  pair  of  them  treated  me  very 
superciliously. 

I,  however,  continued  to  go  about  and  paint  land- 
scapes in  the  vast  beech  forests.  I  have  those 
pictures  by  me  still.  What  splendid  motives  I  had  ; 
if  only  the  hand  of  a  true  artist  had  been  there  to 
seize  them !  In  the  midst  of  the  gloomy  virgin 
forest  lay  the  ruin  of  a  Paulinian  cloister — gigantic 
Gothic  walls  of  grey  granite  ;  on  the  friezes  of  the 
pillars  winged  angel-heads ;  the  pointed  arches 
terminated  in  flowers,  and  these  stone-flowers  were 
supplemented  by  the  living  stone-rose,  which  grew 
luxuriantly  between  the  mouldings.  Behind  the 
vast  blue-shadowed  ruin  lay  the  dark  beech  forest ; 
in   front   was  a  spring,  which,   in  wondrous   wise, 

*  It  was  a  point  of  honour  with  every  loyal  Hungarian  to 
starve  rather  than  to  accept  any  appointment  whatsoever 
from  the  Austrian  Government. — Tr. 


146  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

bubbled  forth  from  the  roots  of  a  huge  prostrate 
linden.  From  the  summit  of  the  ruiu  depended  a 
large  and  ample  hazel-nut  tree,  the  foliage  of  which 
was  now  a  reddish-brown  from  the  autumn  frost, 
•^hile  from  the  windows  the  dark-green  chaplets  of 
the  wild-rose  tree  hung  down  in  the  midst  of  cornel- 
shrubs  and  spindle-plants  variegated  with  scarlet, 
pink,  and  vermilion  berries.  And  the  floor  of  the 
ruin  is  covered  with  a  tangled  carpet  of  brownish- 
green  angelica.  And  there  is  but  one  single  living 
figure  in  this  vast  and  silent  tableau.  From  the 
gloom  of  the  ancient  church  porch  a  timidly  glanc- 
ing stag  peeps  forth  like  the  mythical  guiding-star 
of  the  Hunnic-Magyar  pagan  legends.  Alas  !  thou 
white-antlered  hind  of  our  ancient  leader  Almos, 
whither  hast  thou  led  us  ?  Would  that  thou  hadst 
left  us  in  Asia  !  There,  at  any  rate,  we  should  not 
have  been  obliged  to  learn  German ! 

And  then  that  other  picture,  the  mighty  stone  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  This  was  a  rock  as  large  as  a 
tower,  which  rose  from  the  edge  of  the  table-land. 
Close  beside  it  were  two  gigantic  beech-trees,  whose 
summits  just  reached  up  to  the  middle  of  this  rock, 
and  Autumn,  that  great  decorative  artist,  had 
touched  the  leaves  of  one  with  reddish-brown,  and 
the  other  with  golden-yellow.  On  the  very  top  of 
this  rock  are  three  trees  rich  with  verdure:  how 
did  they  ever  get  up  there  ? 

It  is  possible  to  scramble  up  at  the  risk  of  one's 
neck,  and  from  thence  one  can  see  fresh  pictures  to 


VALENTINE  BALVAnYOSSI  AND   TIHAM^R    147 

paint.  From  the  dizzy  height  of  the  rock  a  view 
into  a  deep  valley  opens  out.  The  two  lines  of  hill 
opposite  are  closed  up  by  a  curved  and  undulating 
range  of  other  hills.  The  setting  sun  lights  up  the 
hillside,  and  bathes  the  whole  scene  in  transparent 
lilac  mist,  while  the  forest  fringe  of  the  summits 
projects  in  sharply  defined  golden  lines.  Down 
below,  the  valley  winds  along  like  a  dark-green 
ribbon,  and  on  the  spot  where  it  is  lost  in  the 
evening  mist  is  to  be  seen  a  little  hut  whose  kitchen 
fire  twinkles  from  the  depths  like  a  blood-red  star. 
Can  any  human  creature  be  living  there  ? 

But  the  most  magnificent  landscape-motive  (in 
which  I  was  happily  immersed)  was  the  panorama 
which  presented  itself  from  the  "  Precipice  Stone." 
This  "  Precipice  Stone  "  was  the  highest  point  of 
the  beech  mountain-district.  Viewed  from  Tordona, 
it  was  like  a  projecting  mountain-spar,  but  one  could 
get  to  the  top  of  it  by  making  a  long  circuit.  This 
rock  was  generally  the  goal  of  my  wanderings.  It 
took  half  a  day  to  get  there  and  half  a  day  to  get 
back,  and  at  midday  I  used  to  kindle  a  fire  of  twigs 
and  make  a  princely  banquet  of  toasted  bread  and 
bacon  ;  and  then,  sitting  down  on  the  dizzy  edge  of 
the  rock,  I  would  tackle  the  impossible  artistic 
problem — at  least  it  was  impossible  to  me.  Beneath 
my  feet,  in  the  foreground,  was  a  dark  spot  formed 
by  a  crown  of  beech-trees,  and  where  this  ended 
there  was  a  smiling  little  nook,  and  in  the  midst  of 
it  tiny,  smoky,   stony   Tordona,  with  its  scattered 


148  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

cottages,  surrounded  by  their  yellow  dice-like  vine- 
yards, and  their  hills  striped  with  green  com,  above 
which  the  still  darker  green  beech  hills  show  their 
heads.  Above  these  crowds  the  group  of  the  Go- 
mori  Hills,  whose  shadows  are  now  deepening  into 
lilac ;  but  these  again  are  dominated  by  the  chain 
of  the  Trencseni  and  Turoczi  Hills.  These  liills  are 
of  a  clouded  blue,  and  above  them  rises,  like  a  fata 
Morgana,  the  princely  range  of  the  fair  Carpathians, 
as  blue  as  heaven  itself,  and  only  to  be  distinguished 
from  it  by  the  dividing  line  of  their  diamond-like 
snowy  peaks.  My  skill  was,  naturally,  not  equal  to 
such  a  task.  If  I  succumbed  when  I  struggled  with 
it,  that  was  not  my  fault. 

With  a  mighty  lead -loaded  oaken  staff  in  my 
hand,  and  a  sharp  kitchen-knife  in  my  roomy  jack- 
boots, I  deemed  myself  sufficient  to  cope  wdth  any 
wolf  I  might  meet  on  the  way.  As  for  a  musket, 
those  who  had  them  took  good  care  to  keep  them 
well  hidden.  Rumour  said  that  to  be  found  with  a 
musket  was  as  much  as  a  man's  life  was  worth. 

The  middle  of  October  had  come. 

Another  guest  now  arrived  at  Tordona.  This 
time  it  was  a  heartily  welcome  guest,  the  merry- 
minded  Telepi.  He  had  fcome  to  fetch  his  little 
Charlie  that  he  might  take  him  abroad  for  his  edu- 
cation. He  was  the  favourite  comic  actor  of  the 
National  Theatre.  .  .  .  He  had  a  round  face,  a 
round  figure,  and  was  all  vivacity,  with  sparkling 
eyes,  pointed  eyebrows,  and  tiny  pointed  moustache ; 


VALENTINE  BALVANYOSSI  AND   TIHAMER     14d 

it  was  just  as  if  he  liad  four  eyebrows  and  four 
moustaches  :  he  was  Hungarian  humour  personified. 

'Twas  he  who  brought  me  my  first  news  from  the 
outside  world:  the  horrible  events  of  the  October 
days,  the  inconceivable  deeds  of  horror  done  by  a 
madman/  who  was  not  even  suflficiently  punished 
by  being  burned  alive  twice. 

Fortunately,  I  heard  these  things  from  a  joking, 
smiling,  devil-may-care,  comic  mouth  !  For  Telepi 
knew  how  to  season  the  tidings  with  so  many  happy 
anecdotes  and  comforting  assurances  that  he  quite 
turned  the  edge  off  the  murderous  knife.  And  then 
he  was  so  full  of  optimism.  "  Our  time  is  coming," 
he  would  say.  "  England  and  France  are  hastening 
to  our  assistance.  The  Turks  are  arming,  the 
Americans  are  showing  their  fists."  And  when  I 
shook  my  head  at  all  this,  he  comforted  me  with 
the  assurance  that  an  amnesty  was  at  hand. 

But  when  we  were  quite  alone,  and  nobody  else 
was  listening,  then  he  told  me  everything  frankly, 
and  without  embellishment. 

My  wife  would  have  come  herself,  but  she  had 
been  ailing;  in  fact  she  had  been  very  ill.  She  was 
better  now.  As  soon  as  she  could  leave  her  bed  she 
would  hasten  to  me  at  Tordona.  I  might  expect 
her  this  very  month.  My  wife  had  a  plan  whereby 
she  hoped  to  free  me  completely,  so  that  I  should 
not  be  exposed  to  persecution  any  more.     What  it 

*  Haynau. — An  allusion  to  the  massacre  of  Hungarian 
prisoners  and  the  brutalities  inflicted  on  their  wives. — Tr. 


150  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

was,  however,  she  could  not  tell  me.  She  only 
begged  one  thing  of  me,  but  ihat  she  begged  most 
earnestly,  and  it  was  this :  until  she  came  to  me  I 
was  to  show  myself  nowhere,  hold  no  communica- 
tion with  anybody,  let  nothing  be  known  of  my 
whereabouts,  I  was  not  even  to  write  a  letter,  for 
they  might  recognise  my  handwriting,  and  then  all 
would  be  over.  So  I  had  to  solemnly  promise  that 
I  would  go  nowhere,  and  speak  to  nobody  whatever 
but  the  good  and  honest  men  of  Tordona.  I  gave 
my  word  upon  it. 

My  wife  sent  me  at  the  same  time  a  warm  winter 
overcoat,  a  large  fur  cap,  and  a  pair  of  double-soled 
Russia-leather  boots.  Winter  was  approaching, 
and  I  should  have  to  spend  it  here  among  the 
forests.  Telepi  also  brought  me  a  little  silver  money 
from  my  wife,  for  bank-notes  were  of  no  use  here. 
She  also  sent  me  some  coffee.  That,  too,  was  not 
to  be  had  here,  and  I  am  fond  of  it  in  the  morning. 
In  the  course  of  the  conversation,  Telepi  inadver- 
tently let  out  that  my  wife  had  sold  her  emeralds, 
had  gone  into  pokey  lodgings,  and  was  living  very 
sparingly.  "  But  what's  the  good  of  fretting  ?  "  he 
added.  "  The  God  of  the  Magyars  is  still  alive !  " 
I  shall  never  forget  that  jocose,  smiling  face,  when, 
in  the  midst  of  his  magnanimous  assurances,  a  tear 
suddenly  rolled  down  his  round,  red  countenance  ! 

Then  I  gave  all  the  pictures  I  had  painted  hitherto 
to  Telepi,  that  he  might  take  them  home  to  my 
wife. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  MEETINQ  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAE 

A  FTER  Telepi  had  gone  back,  a  deep  melanclioly 
-^^-*-  took  possession  of  me. 

My  wife  was  ill,  and  I  had  never  even  dreamt  of 
the  possibility  of  such  a  thing.  What  if  she  were  to 
die  without  being  able  to  exchange  a  last  adieu? 
She  wants  to  set  me  free,  she  says ;  but  how  ?  She 
cannot  tell  me. .  She  cannot  tell  anybody.  Why 
should  she  have  any  secrets  from  me  ?  Ah !  that 
green-eyed  monster  is  a  bad  guide  to  the  imagination. 
A  celebrated  actress  can  so  readily  find  protectors. 
Perhaps  they  are  men  in  authority,  who  hold  life 
and  death  in  their  hands.  Oh,  eternal  darkness,  do 
not  deprive  me  of  the  light  of  my  reason !  Suppose 
I  were  to  gain  readmittance  into  the  world  at  such 
a  price  as  that !  This  condition  of  mind  was  be- 
coming absolutely  unendurable. 

Sometimes  the  desire  seized  me  to  rush  out  of  the 
forest,  knock  at  the  door  of  the  first  Commandant  I 
came  to,  and  give  up  my  name :  "  I  am  that  notorious 
rebel — take  my  head,  I'll  pay  the  price !  " 

But  my  given  word,  my  word  of  honour,  held  me 
back.  Ah !  a  man's  word  of  honour  must  be  kept, 
even  though  it  be  only  given  to  his  wife. 


152  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

I  had  promised  to  go  nowhere.  But  surely  the 
forest  is  nowhere,  and  that  Precipice  Stone  is,  in- 
deed, the  most  out-of-the-way  nowhere  in  the  whole 
world.  Thither  no  man  ever  goes.  Thither  at  least 
I  am  free  to  go. 

My  first,  not  very  successful,  picture  of  the  great 
panorama  I  had  sent  to  my  wife.  I  would  now  have 
another  try  at  it. 

One  fine  autumn  morning  I  again  took  up  my 
lead-loaded  stick,  and  said  to  my  dear  good  hostess 
that  she  was  not  to  expect  me  home  to  dinner  that 
day,  as  I  was  going  to  scramble  up  to  the  Pagan 
Altar  and  sketch  there. 

The  gentry  call  this  rocky  pinnacle  the  Pagan 
Altar ;  the  peasants  call  it  the  Precipice  Stone. 

"But  don't  stay  long,"  said  Mrs.  Csanyi;  "sup- 
pose your  dearest  were  to  arrive  in  the  meantime  ?  " 

My  dearest !  As  if  she  thought  of  seeking  me 
out !  They  only  put  me  off  with  promises,  just  as 
they  tell  a  sick  child  that  he  shall  have  a  rocking- 
horse  when  he  gets  well.  It  was  exactly  seven 
weeks  since  she  had  left  me.    What  an  endless  time ! 

I  made  my  way  at  once  towards  the  linden  spring, 
and  thence  up  the  forest  hill-side  by  the  often-trod- 
den familiar  path.  The  nuts  came  showering  down  ; 
the  frost  had  already  tweaked  the  Cornelian  cherries. 
I  crammed  my  knapsack  full  of  both  :  I  shall  have 
a  luxurious  banquet  to-day.  I  also  found  a  large 
coral-coloured  mushroom;  roasted  in  embers,  it 
would  make  a  tit-bit  worthy  of  a  gourmet. 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   153 

It  was  about  ten  o'clock  when  I  got  up  to  the 
Pagan  Altar, 

When  I  went  out  upon  the  rocky  ledge,  a  truly 
wondrous  scene  spread  itself  out  before  me  ;  it  was 
quite  certain  that  /  should  never  be  able  to  paint 
it.  The  whole  kingdom  was  under  the  sea !  The 
autumn  mist,  like  a  snow-cloud,  covered  the  whole 
landscape  to  the  very  horizon,  from  which  towered 
vast  snowy  peaks  and  snowy  cupolas ;  in  other  places 
the  misty  mantle  resembled  frozen  waves,  out  of 
which  here  and  there  rose  round,  blackish  islands, 
the  peaks  of  the  higher  mountains.  It  was  a  faith- 
ful image  of  reality:  nothingness.  There  was 
nothing  left  now. 

I  could  calculate  pretty  surely  on  the  mist  de- 
scending at  midday,  and  painting  field  and  forest 
with  frost ;  but  till  then  I  could  sketch  nothing. 

So  I  lay  down  upon  the  rocky  ledge,  and  mar- 
velled at  this  motionless,  huge,  white  winding-sheet 
which  covered  a  whole  realm.  I  had  no  thought  of 
eating  now.  I  hung  up  my  knapsack  with  my  bread 
and  bacon  on  a  spruce-fir  tree,  and  when  I  had 
looked  my  fill  of  wonder  at  the  sea  of  mist,  I 
watched  the  itinerant  ants  who,  following  their 
regular  road,  crept  right  over  my  body,  never 
troubling  themselves  very  much  about  the  circum- 
stance that  a  giant,  like  a  mountain  range,  lay  right 
across  their  path. 

At  this  height  not  even  the  thrush's  whistle  broke 
the  stillness. 


154  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

The  sun  shone  down.  Not  a  breeze  was  stirring. 
My  head  was  resting  on  a  large  green  mossy  stone  ; 
I  felt  like  dropping  off  to  sleep. 

All  at  once,  as  if  I  really  were  dreaming,  from 
somewhere  not  very  far  off  a  song  rang  out : — 

"  Lo !  on  the  mountain  top 
A  valiant  man  doth  stand, 
And  on  his  trusty  weapon  rests 
His  stalwart  good  right  hand." 

It  was  a  man's  voice,  and  I  seemed  to  recognise  it. 
My  first  feeling  was  joy.  I  was  about  to  meet 
some  old  acquaintance  in  that  vast  wilderness.  It 
only  occurred  to  me  afterwards  that  this  would  be 
contrary  to  my  compact.  I  was  to  meet  no  man 
who  could  possibly  recognise  me. 

But  it  was  too  late  to  avoid  him  now.  Only  one 
single  path  led  up  to.  the  summit  of  the  Precipice 
Stone,  whether  one  came  from  Tordona  or  from 
Malyinka,  and  my  songster  was  evidently  coming 
from  the  latter  place. 

The  next  verse  of  the  song  sounded  very  much 
nearer : — 

"  Lo !  on  his  kalpag  *  see 

A  blood- red  nodding  plume ; 
A  mantle  black  surrounds  his  neck, 
His  wild  eye  lowers  with  gloom." 

And  now  I  heard  a  woman's  voice  also. 
Some  one  was  telling  the  singer  not  to  sing  while 
climbing. 

^  The  tall  fur  hat,  generally  plumed,  which  forms  part  of 
the  Hungarian  national  costume. 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   155 

So  there  was  a  pair  of  them  ! 

And  as  the  singer  gradually  mounted  higher  and 
higher,  his  figure  also  became  visible  from  behind 
the  rocky  ledge. 

"  Presumptuous  mortal,  quake  and  fear 

When  thou  his  awful  name  dost  hear : 

Diavolo,  Diavolo,  Diavolo ! " 

Yet  nobody  quaked  so  much  as  Fra  Diavolo  him- 
self, when  he  perceived  a  human  shape  stretched 
before  him  on  the  ground  as  he  scaled  the  very 
summit  of  the  rocky  ledge. 

And  certainly  I  was  not  a  very  reassuring  spec- 
tacle, as,  with  my  sheepskin  cap  pressed  closely  to 
my  head,  and  a  large  cudgel  in  my  fist,  I  slowly 
rose  from  my  knees. 

I  recognised  him  before  he  recognised  me. 

"  Your  servant,  Balvanyossi !  Why,  how  did  you 
manage  to  get  here,  where  not  even  the  bird  that 
flies  can  come  ?" 

Then  his  terror  was  turned  into  joy. 

"  Ah,  ha !  my  poet- friend  !  What  a  divine  en- 
counter here  in  Heaven  above ! "  Wilji  that  he 
hastened  up  to  me  and  we  embraced. 

By  this  time  his  lady  companion  had  also  got  the 
better  of  the  rocky  zig-zag  which  led  up  to  the 
mountain  ledge. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  my  own  heart  to  stop  beat- 
ing. That  female  shape  was  Bessy — the  sea-eyed 
beauty ! 


156  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

How  came  they  two  to  be  together  ?  How  came 
they  to  be  both  here  at  the  same  time  ? 

But  it  was  no  vision.  The  fair  lady  recognised 
me  instantly,  Her  face,  red  already  from  her 
mountain  scramble,  could  be  no  redder  at  the  sight 
of  me,  nor  could  her  bosom  heave  more  than  it  was 
heaving  now ;  but  on  her  face  there  was  a  sort  of 
holding-back  expression. 

Friend  Valentine  perceived  the  look  of  amazed 
inquiry  on  my  face,  and  turning  with  true  histrionic 
humour  towards  his  lady-companion,  introduced  her 
to  me  with  the  words,  "  My  grandmother !  " 

At  this  witticism  the  lady  laughed,  and  I  had 
sufficient  self-control  not  to  reply  to  this  introduc- 
tion with  a  single  word. 

"  Then  come  to  my  bosom,  my  son,  for  I  am  thy 
grandfather." 

"  It  is  very  strange  we  should  meet  here,"  I  put  in. 

But  my  friend's  features  suddenly  darkened  as  if 
he  were  obeying  a  stage  direction  like,  "  here  he 
suddenly  assumes  a  grave  face." 

"First  of  all,  my  dear  friend,"  said  he,  "I  de- 
mand your  word  of  honour  not  to  reveal  to  any  one 
in  the  created  world  that  you  have  seen  me.  You 
know  that  I  am  now  Tihamer  Rengetegi  till  the 
old  blonde  hair  grow  again  (what  I'm  wearing  now 
is  a  wig) ;  for  a  heavy  price  is  fixed  upon  my  head. 
A  word,  and  I  am  lost.  Your  parole  that  you'll 
say  nothing  about  me  ?  " 

"The  promise  must  be  mutual,  then,"  I  replied. 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR  157 

"  I  just  as  solemnly  require  you  to  say  not  a  word 
to  anybody  about  me,  for  I  also  am  in  hiding  here." 

At  this  he  began  to  laugh.  It  was  a  stage  laugh, 
for  he  placed  his  hand  on  his  stomach,  crooked  his 
back,  and  turned  upon  his  heel,  choking  with 
laughter. 

"  And  you  also  are  hiding  away  here  from  the 
Germans !     "Well,  that  in  a  joke !  " 

I  inquired  somewhat  brusquely  what  there  was 
to  laugh  at. 

"Why,  at  your  hiding — hiding  away  from  the 
Imperialists.  You,  of  all  people !  "Why,  don't  you 
know,  then,  that  very  many  deputies  defended 
themselves  before  the  court-martials  by  declaring 
themselves  former  contributors  to  your  Esti  Lap?^ 
Why,  every  one  knows  that  you  were  the  organ  of 
the  peace  party  at  Debreczin.  Every  one  is  well 
aware  that  you  were  the  ally  of  the  Imperialists." 

At  this  I  at  once  flew  into  a  rage. 

"  Have  you  ever  seen  the  Esti  Lap  .^" 

"No,  I've  not  actually  seen  it,  but  it  was  the 
general  opinion  among  us  soldiers  that  you  were 
higgling  with  the  Imperialists." 

At  this  Bessy  intervened  by  giving  a  good  tug 
at  her  friend's  collar. 

"  Rubbish !     Such  rumours  are  only  circulated  by 
pot-house  heroes  like  yourself.     He  certainly  was  no 
traitor!      Would  that  all  who  open  their  mouths 
so  loudly  were  as  good  patriots  ?  " 
*  Evening  News, 


168  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

My  friend,  with  sheepish  obsequiousness,  hastened 
to  readjust  his  opinion  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
"  grandmother." 

"Good,  good!  I  never  believed  a  word  of  it 
myself — why  should  I  ?"  said  he. 

"  The  best  proof  that  I  am  not  what  calumny 
would  make  me  is  the  fact  of  my  meeting  you  here 
at  the  Pagan  Altar ;  and  again  I  beg  of  you  to  tell 
nobody  that  we  have  met." 

Here  Bessy  again  intervened. 

"  I'll  answer  for  that.  I  shall  now  be  constantly 
at  the  side  of  this  honest  gentleman,  and  if  his 
tongue  begins  to  wag,  my  hand  will  be  ready  to 
stop  it  for  him." 

Mr.  Valentine  laughed. 

"  What  a  woman  it  is !  She  really  has  a  most 
rapid  hand.  Not  a  day  passes  but  she  lets  me  feel 
the  weight  of  her  palm." 

At  this  I  made  a  very  critical  face.  My  good 
friend  could  read  very  well  from  it  that  I  wished 
to  know  by  what  right  hLs  cheeks  were  allowed 
to  feel  the  force  of  Bessy's  rosy  palms  day  by  day. 

"  "We  met  together  in  camp,  and  the  field-chaplain 
blessed  our  union  to  the  roaring  of  guns  and  the 
beating  of  drums." 

That  was  right  enough,  surely ! 

Bessy's  eyes  were  raised  towards  me  as  if  she 
could  add  a  great  deal  to  this  short  history.  Friend 
Valentine  thought  it  good  to  become  loudly  enthusi- 
astic. 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR    159 

"  What  a  woman,  my  friend  !  A  heroine !  A 
perfect  Jeanne  d'Arc !  "We  were  bound  together 
by  a  whole  chain  of  wonders  and  exploits.  She  was 
not  my  consort — nay !  she  was  much  more,  my 
companion  in  arms.  I'll  tell  you  the  whole  thing 
one  of  these  days," 

"That  will  do.     .    .     ." 

"  What  ?  That  will  do  ?  Are  you,  then,  so  poor- 
spirited  ?  /  am  ready  to  meet  the  spectres  of  the 
darkness  face  to  face.  I'll  set  in  motion  the  avalanche 
which  shall  wrench  the  world  from  its  hinges." 

I  left  him  to  set  his  avalanche  in  motion  while  I 
went  to  gather  dry  twigs  and  leaves  and  make  a 
heap  of  them.  Meanwhile  Valentine  declaimed  to 
the  clouds. 

"  What  a  spectacle !  The  whole  realm  a  sea ! 
We  stand  alone,  like  the  co-operating  Demiurges  at 
the  creation,  in  the  face  of  chaos." 

"  Have  you  got  your  troupe  together  ?  "  I  inquired, 
thus  bringing  him  down  at  once  from  his  pedestal. 

"  My  troupe  ?  That's  just  what  I  am  going  about 
now.  Brutus  must  play  the  fool  until  his  day  has 
come.  But  when  once  the  hour  of  retribution  ar- 
rives, we  will  rise  as  one  man  and  win  back  our 
outraged  liberties." 

"  With  my  bludgeon,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Oh,  not  with  that  sort  of  thing,"  said  friend 
Valentine,  with  haughty  condescension.  "  I  have 
no  secret  to  hide  from  you.  An  American  hero  of 
freedom  has  invented  a  weapon  which,  placed   in 


160  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

the  hand  of  a  simple  citizen,  will  give  him  an  irre- 
sistible advantage  over  the  hireling  soldiery.  Its 
EngHsh  name  is  'revolver.'  I  have  one  by  me. 
Thanks  to  my  acquaintances  beyond  the  ocean,  I 
have  managed  to  provide  myself  with  it.  Look 
here  ! " 

With  that  he  produced  from  his  side  pocket  a 
pistol,  the  like  of  which  I  had  never  seen  before.  It 
was  the  Colt  revolver,  for  discharging  five  shots. 
You  loaded  it  in  front,  and  with  this  object  in  view, 
you  had  to  shove  out  the  cartridge  cylinder  and 
sprinkle  powder  out  of  the  powder-flask  in  every 
loop-hole ;  at  the  end  of  the  bullet  was  a  nail,  which 
had  to  be  made  firm  with  a  cork- stopper,  then  the 
bullet  had  to  be  driven  into  the  barrel  by  means  of 
a  hammer  and  ramrod,  then  the  cartridge  cylinder 
had  to  be  fastened  down  again  into  its  place,  and 
pyramids  of  priming  powder  piled  on  the  top  of  it — 
while  the  enemy  was  supposed  to  be  looking  on  all 
the  time  and  watching  good-naturedly  to  see  what 
would  come  of  it  all. 

Friend  Valentine  had  immense  confidence  in  his 
wondrous  firearm. 

"  You  can  see  that  I  am  prepared  for  every  con- 
ceivable emergency.  My  faith,  I  will  sell  my  life 
dearly  !  I  may  tell  you,  for  you  will  not  betray  me. 
Beneath*  this  Pagan  Altar  is  a  cave,  the  existence 
of  which  is  known  only  to  the  initiated.  I  have 
selected  it  for  my  hiding-place.  When  the  chase 
against  me  begins,  and  a  whole  brigade  of  gendarmes 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   161 

marches  out  to  seize  me,  I  will  creep  into  this  cave ; 
victuals  and  brandy  for  a  whole  week  are  already 
there  for  me  ;  let  them  riot  round  me  then  as  they 
like." 

I  could  not  help  laughing  at  these  wise  pre- 
cautions. But  friend  Valentine's  explanations  be- 
came still  more  fiery. 

"  My  friend  !  a  single  narrow  little  path  leads  to 
this  cave.  The  bears  used  possibly  to  resort  thither 
in  the  days  when  bears  camped  in  the  beech  dis- 
tricts. If  they  attempt  to  storm  me  there,  I  can 
defend  myself  with  this  revolver  against  a  whole 
host." 

All  this  time  I  had  been  employed  in  piling  up 
a  nice  little  heap  of  dry  twigs  and  leaves,  which  I 
now  set  on  fire  with  my  flint  and  steel. 

Friend  Valentine  caught  me  nervously  by  the 
hand. 

"  "What  are  you  doing,  my  friend  ?  " 

"  Lighting  a  fire,  my  friend." 

"  Why,  my  friend  ?  " 

"  To  cook  bacon  with,  my  friend." 

"  They  will  see  the  blaze  of  our  fire  from  below." 

"  How  can  they  see  when  the  mist  is  so  thick 
there?" 

He  admitted  that  I  was  right,  and  allowed  me  to 
ignite  my  heap,  which  immediately  began  to  crackle 
merrily. 

Meanwhile,  friend  Valentine  went  and  stood  on 
the  edge  of  the  Precipice  Stone  to  watch  the  mist, 

M 


162  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

and  from  time  to  time  informed  me  of  the  changes 
of  scene  that  were  going  on :  now  the  mists  were 
beginning  to  break,  now  they  were  rising,  the 
houses  would  be  visible  almost  immediately. 

And  all  the  time  I  was  toasting  slices  of  bread 
by  the  fire,  and  after  that  slices  of  bacon,  allowing 
the  bacon  fat  to  drip  gradually  down  and  soak 
through  the  toast  with  a  deftness  that  would  have 
done  honour  to  a  professional  cook. 

Bessy  took  it  into  her  head  to  follow  my  example. 

"  Give  me  the  bread  and  bacon  out  of  the  knap- 
sack," said  she  to  Valentine. 

"  But  what  necessity  for  it  is  there  now  ?  " 

"  I  must  have  it  at  once." 

And  with  that  she  went  up  to  him  and  began 
rummaging  in  the  knapsack. 

"  Why,  what  a  prosaic  nature  is  yours !  "  said 
Valentine  reproachfully  to  the  lady.  "At  such  a 
sublime  moment,  too,  in  the  presence  of  such  a 
glorious  spectacle  !  Just  look  at  that  magnificent 
scene !  The  whole  of  the  cloud  of  mist  is  rising 
like  a  stage  curtain.  The  gigantic  theatre  appears 
like  magic  from  behind  the  hanging  cloudy  tapes- 
tries. Behold  the  sunlit  heights,  the  white  shim- 
mering houses.  And  now  a  fresh  mountain-chain 
emerges  crowned  with  dim  forests.  Just  as  if  they 
were  of  massive  gold.     .     .     ." 

"  Give  me  the  bacon,  I  say." 

"  My  heart,  my  blood  is  thine,  but  ask  me  not  for 
bacon  !    Look  how  the  earth  rises  up  before  us  ; 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   163 

nothing  but  mountains,  mountains,  mountains  ! 
Still  nothing  to  be  seen  of  the  dome  of  Heaven ! 
And  that  deep  divine  calm  around  us !  Only  from 
the  distant  forge  resounds  the  measured  thud  of  the 
sledge  hammer,  as  though  one  heard  the  throbbing 
of  the  heart  of  the  universe !  And  does  not  thine 
own  heart  beat  faster  in  this  sublime  place  ?  " 

"  It  throbs,  it  throbs !  Right  sorely  does  it  throb ! 
But  we'll  look  at  the  august  spectacle  a  little  later." 

"  What !  Not  look  when  an  instant  like  this  is 
worth  a  world  ?  " 

The  natural  phenomenon  before  us  really  was 
very  fine,  as  the  whole  misty  cloud  rose  swiftly 
from  the  mountains,  covering  with  a  deep  shadow 
the  sky  that  up  to  that  moment  had  been  shining 
bright  and  blue  before  us,  and  at  the  same  time 
unfolding  before  us  the  muffled  panorama  of  hill 
behind  hill  beneath  our  feet ;  the  solar  rays,  like  the 
broad  diverging  spokes  of  a  huge  wheel,  shot  down 
from  the  cloudy  rifts  with  a  milky  sort  of  glare.  It 
would  really  have  been  a  majestic  scene  but  for  the 
false,  disturbing  pathos  of  friend  Valentine. 

"  Nay,  nay  !  I  cannot  view  it  standing  on  my 
feet !  Here  one  should  go  down  upon  one's  knees. 
Here  the  gods  themselves  walk  abroad  !  " 

Valentine  plumped  down  upon  his  knees,  and 
because  Bessy  would  not  follow  his  example,  he 
wound  his  arm  around  her  and  clasped  her  to  his 
breast.  She,  however,  was  impatient  at  his  insipid 
vapourings. 


164  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  You  are  just  like  that  professor,"  said  she,  "  who 
held  up  his  oil-lamp  against  the  moon  that  his  guests 
might  see  her  better." 

"  Elizabeth !  "  sighed  the  Celadon  bitterly  (Bessy- 
was  a  name  which  could  not  be  emphasized  with 
sighs  so  well  as  Elizabeth),  "  dost  thou  not  remember 
that  solemn  moment  when  we  said  to  one  another, 
'How  sweet  it  would  be  to  die  together  this  instant'? 
Has  not  our  common  friend  said  (here  he  looked  at 
me),  *  A  good  death  is  better  than  a  bad  life  '  ? 
Come,  let  us  verify  that  saying :  wrapped  in  each 
other's  embrace,  heart  throbbing  responsive  to  heart, 
a  dizziness,  a  plunge  forward  from  this  rock,  and 
then  a  delicious  flight  whose  goal  will  be  the  stars !" 

"  Go  away  with  you !  Don't  make  a  fool  of  your- 
self !     I  have  no  wish  to  plunge  into  Heaven !  " 

"  But  I'll  bear  thee  thither  with  me  like  a 
Valkyrian.  And  thou,  my  friend,  wilt  immortalize 
our  final  catastrophe  in  a  heroic  ballad." 

And  with  that  he  seized  the  lady  by  the  arm,  and 
rushed  with  her  upon  the  steep  rocky  ledge. 

"Hast  thou  said  thy  prayers  to-day,  Desdemona  ?" 

Bessy  looked  towards  me  with  a  timid  look.  I 
pretended  to  observe  nothing.  What  had  I  to  do 
with  these  amorous  passages  ?    I  was  frizzling  bacon. 

"  Dost  thou  doubt  me  capable  of  dying  with  thee 
at  this  moment  ?  "  cried  Valentine  Balvanyossi,  with 
his  wig  awry  over  his  eyes. 

Then  the  lady  cried  with  a  supplicating  voice  : 
"  Nay ;  but  help  me,  dear  Maurice !  " 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR    165 

"  Very  well,  I  will  help  you,"  thouglit  I  ;  "  I  did 
it  once  before,  so  you  say.     Poets  have  long  arms." 

'  Friend  Valentine,"  said  I,  without  rising  from 
my  squatting  position  beside  the  frizzling  bacon, 
"  don't  you  see  those  two  men  with  muskets  coming 
up  this  way  along  the  mountain  path  ?  " 

"  Wha-a-at,  two  m-m-men  with  mus-us-kets?  " 
said  the  hero,  his  rumbling  bass -baritone  voice 
suddenly  dwindling  into  a  piping  treble.  "  Where 
are  they  ?  "  All  his  longing  for  death  had  instantly 
vanished,  and  he  immediately  released  his  victim 
from  his  embrace. 

I  indicated  the  approaching  strangers  with  my 
toasting-fork.     "  There  !  " 

Then  he  also  saw  them. 

"  Br-r-rother,  those  are  gend-end-end-armes  ! " 

"  Possibly  they  are  gend-end-armes,  for  there  are 
two  of  them." 

"  Put  out  the  fire  at  once  !  " 

"  I  would  if  I  could,  but  I  can't  now.  And  if  I 
did,  what  good  would  that  do  ?  They  have  seen  it 
already." 

"  I  told  you  not  to  make  a  fire  here." 

But  now  Bessy  turned  furiously  upon  him. 

"It  is  your  stagey  spouting  that  has  saddled  us 
with  them.  What  business  had  you  to  go  declaim- 
ing on  the  mountain  tops?  The  people  fancy  you 
are  murdering  some  one." 

"  They  are  coming  straight  towards  us,"  gasped 
friend  Valentine.   "  If  they  get  hold  of  me,  I  am  lost." 


166  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

I  tried  to  reassure  him :  "  Come,  come !  recollect 
there  are  two  of  us ;  with  my  loaded  cudgel  and 
your  revolver  we  shall  offer  a  stubborn  resistance." 

"Br-r-other,  they  have  guns  which  hit  at  four 
hundred  yards,  while  my  revolver  has  only  a  range 
of  thiriy,  and  it  doesn't  always  hit  the  mark  even 
then.  We  cannot  risk  so  much.  It  is  quite  another 
thing  when  I  am  in  the  dark  cave,  and  they  are  out 
in  the  light,  for  then  I  can  see  them,  but  they  can't 
see  me." 

"Then  you'll  hide  away  in  your  cave,  I  sup- 
pose?". 

"  Oh,  not  for  my  own  life's  sake,  but  for  the  sake 
of  my  country,  whose  fate  I  carry  in  my  bosom. 
The  heels  of  my  boots  are  full  of  secret  despatches 
from  England  and  Turkey.  I  am  not  free  to  stake 
everything  so  lightly." 

"  Well,  go  and  hide  yourself,  by  all  means  ! " 

But  then  Bessy  put  in  a  word :  "  'Tis  all  very 
well,  but  what's  to  become  of  me.  I  cannot  crawl 
on  all  fours  into  your  big  bear-garden." 

"  Nor  would  I  allow  it.  Is  not  our  common 
friend  here?  He  will  remain  here.  You  will  not 
run  away,  will  you  ?  I  am  sure  they  don't  know 
you.  Your  portrait  has  appeared  nowhere,  but  mine 
has  gone  from  hand  to  hand.  A  full  description  of 
my  personal  appearance  flutters  at  every  street 
comer.  If  they  come,  say  that  it  was  you  who 
kicked  up  that  row ;  say  that  she  is  your  wife." 

"  I  won't  say  that" 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR  167 

"Then  do  what  you  like.  I  rely  upon  you, 
mind!" 

"  That's  all  very  well,"  cried  Bessy  peevishly,  "  but 
what  will  happen  afterwards  ?  If  you  remain  in 
3'our  hole,  and  our  good  friend  goes  home,  what  am 
I  to  do  all  alone  here  by  myself  on  the  top  of  a 
rock?  I  shall  never  find  my  way  home  through 
this  wood." 

Then  my  friend,  with  cheap  generosity,  made 
this  magnanimous  offer  : — 

"  Dear  friend,  take  her  home  with  you." 

So  that  was  to  be  the  denouement  of  this  odd 
drama ! 

"  No,  my  magnanimous  friend.  Not  so !  You 
go  and  reserve  yourself  for  posterity.  We  two  will 
remain  here.  One  of  two  things  is  bound  to  happen. 
If  those  two  men,  armed  with  muskets,  find  me 
painting  pictures  in  my  album,  they  will  believe 
either  that  I  am  a  simple  painter  (they  know  that 
Karoly  Telepi  is  wandering  about  on  a  sketching 
tour  here,  and  they'll  take  me  for  him,  and  Bessy 
for — my  sister) ;  or  they'll  not  believe  anything  of 
the  kind,  and  in  that  case  they'll  escort  us  both  to 
Miskolcz.  In  the  latter  case  you  need  have  no  fear 
of  turning  back.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  after  the 
lapse  of  a  few  hours,  you  creep  out  of  your  cave  and 
see  me  sitting  as  before,  on  the  rocky  ledge,  and 
peaceably  continuing  my  sketching,  then  you  will 
know  that  the  armed  invasion  has  passed  on  further, 
and  you  can  come  back  again  to  the  Lady  Elizabeth. 


168  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

Then  I'll  give  you  my  blessing,  and  we'll  return 
from  whence  we  came— you  to  the  east,  I  to  the 
west." 

With  this  he  was  satisfied. 

"  But  don't  betray  me  ! "  he  murmured,  casting  a 
terrified  look  upon  us ;  "  even  though  they  hale  you 
off  to  the  block,  don*t  say  where  I  am." 

I  gave  him  my  word  of  honour  that  not  even  the 
Spanish  boot  should  extort  his  secret  from  me, 
whereupon  he  went  gingerly  down  upon  all  fours, 
scrambled  up  the  rocky  summit  by  the  corkscrew 
path,  and  vanished  among  the  bushes. 

"  Ugh  !  I  only  wish  he  hadn't  taken  the  bread 
and  bacon  along  with  him  !  "  lamented  the  girl  he 
left  behind  him. 

"  I'll  share  mine  with  you;  there's  enough  for  two." 

And  with  that  I  seized  my  crooked  clasp-knife, 
cut  the  slice  of  bread  in  two,  minced  the  bacon  into 
little  bits,  and  sprinkled  it  with  salt  and  pepper. 

Nor  was  that  all.  I  rubbed  both  sides  of  the 
toasted  bacon  with  a  knob  of  garlic.  It  was  a  sort 
of  Oriental  language  of  flowers.  I  meant  to  remind 
her  that  her  ideal  of  a  man  was  one  who  did  not 
rinse  his  mouth  after  eating  garlic. 

Thus  we  were  alone  on  the  summit  of  the  Pagan 
Altar,  crouching  together  beside  a  fire  of  burning 
embers,  and  dividing  a  piece  of  toast  and  a  slice  of 
bacon — I  and  the  former  mistress  of  my  heart. 

That  "  former  "  was  not  so  very  long  ago.  It 
was  scarcely  three  years  since  the  golden  thrushea 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR    169 

mingled  their  songs  with  our  chats.  The  idyllic 
coutemplation  of  the  matter,  however,  was  consider- 
ably disturbed  by  the  concrete  circumstance  that, 
during  these  three  years,  a  third  masterpiece  of 
creation  had  found  in  my  former  paragon  the  rib 
that  had  been  subtracted  from  him  while  he  slept. 
Her  first  venture  was  a  fashionable  fop,  her  second 
an  Antinous  of  the  wilderness,  her  third  was  now  a 
stage  Othello. 

And  our  feelings  were  still  further  subdued  by 
the  disagreeable  tension  occasioned  by  the  approach 
towards  us  of  two  armed  men,  who  kept  on  popping 
up  before  us  in  the  clearings  of  the  forest,  now  here, 
now  there,  but  continually  drawing  nearer  to  the 
Pagan  Altar.  There  could  not  now  be  a  doubt  that 
they  were  making  towards  us. 

"  It  would  be  as  well  if  I  set  to  work  and  sketched 
something  in  my  album  while  they  are  approach- 
ing," said  I,  "  in  case  they  inquire  what  I  am  doing 
here." 

With  that,  I  sat  down  on  the  steep  rocky  ledge, 
placed  my  sketch-book  on  my  knee,  and  designed 
the  contours  of  my  picture  on  a  grand  scale. 

The  lady  sat  do\vn  close  beside  me,  and  observed 
how  I  looked  now  on  the  hills  and  now  on  my  paper 
— but  never  into  her  fine  eyes. 

We  did  not  exchange  a  word  with  each  other, 
not  a  single  word. 

At  last,  however,  I  grew  impatient  of  the  silence, 
and  without  looking  up  from  my  sketch,  I  said  to 


170  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

her :  "  I  really  thought  that  by  this  time  you  and 
Peter  Gyuricza  had  filled  the  whole  world  full  of 
butter  and  cheese." 

But  then,  with  both  her  hands,  she  seized  my 
sketching  hand,  so  that  I  had  to  leave  off  my  work, 
and  said,  with  a  mournful  voice : 

"  You  have  the  most  sovereign  contempt  for  me 
now,  eh  ?  But  if  I  were  to  tell  you  what  frightful 
calamities  1  have  gone  through  since  last  we  met, 
then  I  am  sure  you  would  have  compassion  on 
me." 

I  told  her  that  if  she  liked  to  speak,  I  could  now 
Usten,  as  I  had  plenty  of  time. 

"  You  remember  when  last  we  met,  don't  you  ? 
When  you  banged  the  door  in  my  face,  I  mean — 
though,  God  knows,  I  only  meant  to  do  you  good 
then,  I  never  meant  to  make  you  so  angry,  and 
immediately  made  the  best  of  my  way  home  to  the 
hut  of  Peter  Gyuricza.  Ah !  how  sorry  I  then  was 
that  I  had  not  pleaded  my  cause  with  you  better. 
I  had  another  reason  for  going  to  you.  When  the 
lawyers  took  up  my  case,  the  fair-haired  partner 
offered  me  a  little  money,  which  I  might  repay  him, 
he  said,  when  I  gained  my  suit.  But  I  chose  to  ride 
the  high  horse,  and  rejected  the  proffered  money, 
although  I  had  really  nothing  about  me  but  three 
Tmszases^  which  I  had  saved  from  the  proceeds  of 
the  butter.  That  was  not  even  enough  for  the 
steam-boat.  A  couple  of  florins  or  so  would  have 
*  The  husza — 20  kreutzers. 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   171 

done.  But,  of  course,  when  you  drove  me  out  of 
your  room  1  had  to  do  without." 

"I  am  very  sorry  that  I  did  not  guess  your 
need." 

"  Stm  more  sorry  was  I.  I  was  obliged,  in  my 
straits,  to  climb  into  the  cart  of  a  poulterer  who 
was  going  to  Vienna,  and  who,  for  two  of  my 
huszases^  found  a  place  for  me  among  the  hen-coops. 
I  still  had  a  few  garashes  ^  for  my  journey,  which 
were  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  straw  on  which  I  slept 
at  the  inns  where  we  descended.  On  the  third  day 
I  arrived  safely  at  Uj-Szony,  and  by  that  time  I 
had  eaten  the  last  bit  of  bread  and  cheese  in  my 
basket.  In  front  of  the  inn  stood  a  lame  and 
paralysed  beggar,  who  begged  alms  of  me  in  Grod's 
name.  I  had  only  two  kreutzers  still  left.  I  kept 
back  one  kreutzer  from  the  beggar,  for  I  knew  that 
I  should  have  to  pay  a  toll  on  the  bridge.  Now,  that 
was  your  fault,  look  you.  You  might  have  inserted 
a  paragraph  in  the  Twelve  Articles  of  Pest  abolish- 
ing the  tolls." 

I  was  furious.  I  had  to  erase  half  my  drawing. 
Bessy  laughed  at  my  misfortune,  and  at  her  own 
also.     Then  she  proceeded: — 

"  From  thence  I  had  to  make  my  way  home  on 
foot.  I  could  go  right  along  by  the  banks  of  the 
Danube  without  entering  the  town.  I  did  not  meet 
a  single  acquaintance.  In  front  of  me  I  saw  a  large 
group  of  National  Guards  in  blue  attilas,  hastening 
*■  A  gar  ash— \i  kreutzers. 


172  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

rapidly  towards  the  fortress  amidst  the  beating  of 
dniins.  It  must  have  been  a  serious  business  which 
prevented  them  from  looking  at  a  pretty  woman. 
Then  I  went  nicely  and  quietly  along  the  well- 
known  way.  Like  the  egg-selling  woman  in  the 
fairy-tale,  I  began  to  consider  what  I  would  do  when 
I  got  back  my  patrimony.  I  would  go  with  my 
Gjoiricza  right  away  into  Transylvania,  there  I 
would  buy  him  a  property,  where  he  might  rear  as 
many  cattle  as  he  liked.  I  myself  would  learn  to 
spin  like  the  Pakular  ^  women ;  my  husband  should 
wear  clothes  of  my  own  weaving.  I  would  adorn 
my  bedchamber  with  embroidered  napkins,  hang 
varnished  vases  all  round,  and  there  should  be  rows 
of  pewter  dishes  on  every  shelf.  We  should  have 
our  plum-orchard  too,  and  from  the  plums  I  would 
make  palirika.  I  would  keep  bees,  and  make  mead, 
and  bake  honey-cakes,  which  Peter  loves  so  much 
when  he  can  get  them  at  the  fair.  All  this  time  I 
had  never  noticed  that  I  was  getting  quite  close  to 
the  hut.  It  was  drawing  towards  evening,  and 
smoke  was  coming  from  the  chimney.  No  doubt 
the  little  serving-maid  was  cooking  supper  accord- 
ing to  my  directions.  How  surprised  Peter  would 
be  when  I  brought  his  flesh-pot  out  to  him  in 
the  pastures !  When  I  entered  the  hut  I  found 
by  the  hearth — nobody.  I  went  into  the  room. 
What  do  I  see  ?    My  Peter  Gyuricza  sitting  at  the 

*  A  village  in  Transylvania,  chiefly   inhabited  by  Wal- 
lachs. — Tb, 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   173 

table — with,  his  wife ;  and  ttey  were  supping 
sweetly  together  out  of  the  same  dish,  like  two 
turtle-doves ! " 

("  Aha !  "  I  murmured,  "  poetic  justice  with  a 
vengeance;  I  myself  could  not  have  devised  a 
happier  denouements^) 

"Everything  became  green  and  blue  before  my 
eyes.  My  throat  contracted.  I  was  incapable  of 
uttering  a  word.  But  the  tongue  of  the  little 
peasant  woman  wagged  all  the  brisker.  No  sooner 
did  she  see  me  than  she  bounced  from  her  place, 
cocked  her  haube  on  the  side  of  her  head,  stuck  her 
arms  akimbo,  and  fell  foul  of  me. 

"  *  Ah,  ha !  my  dear  precious  lady  !  I  suppose  'tis 
Carnival  time,  since  you  come  masquerading  hither 
like  that!  Perhaps  you've  come  because  you've 
lost  something  here,  eh  ?  A  shawl,  perhaps  ?  A 
very  pretty  Httle  ladyship,  that  I  wUl  say ! 
Haven't  you  got  a  nice  enough  lord  and  master 
of  your  own  at  home  ?  Must  you  befool  the  poor 
peasant  also?  Or  if  your  lawful  husband  is  not 
enough  for  you,  can't  you  go  and  choose  another 
from  among  the  cavaliers  of  your  own  rank  ?  You 
hanker  after  laying  your  little  stuck-up  noddle  on 
my  patch-pillow,  eh?  You  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  yourself ! ' 

"  I  was  dumbfoundered.  This  face  of  a  fury,  with 
the  eyes  sticking  out  of  its  head,  robbed  me  of  all 
my  pluck.  In  my  despair  and  doubt  I  looked  at 
Peter. 


174  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  He  all  this  time  was  sitting  with  his  elbows 
on  the  table  and  swallowing  one  dumpling  after 
another. 

"  '  Is  this  justice,  Peter  ? '  stammered  I,  half- 
sobbing  ;  *  will  you  let  me  be  treated  like  this  ? ' 

"  At  this  he  struck  the  table  with  his  fist  a 
mighty  blow  and  roared  at  his  wife :  '  Woman  ! 
Shut  up !  Hold  your  tongue !  Sit  down  at  that 
table  and  fill  your  stomach  !     I'll  speak  now.' 

"  The  woman  sulked  in  silence,  but,  even  while 
her  husband  was  speaking,  she  could  not  forbear 
putting  in  a  word  or  two  here  and  there,  such  as : 
'  She  has  worn  out  my  dress,  too ! — I  didn't  steal 
that !  My  lovely  chintz  dress !  How  she  has 
rumpled  it !  Just  as  if  she  had  been  tumbling  it 
about  in  every  pot-house  ! ' 

"  But  Peter  spoke  very  sagely. 

"  '  My  lady,  I  beg  pardon !  I  know  what  honour 
is.  I  was  once  a  soldier.  I  know  my  duty. 
What  won't  match  can't  match.  A  horse  and  an 
ox  won't  draw  together.  A  peasant  woman's  meet 
for  a  peasant,  a  lady's  meet  for  a  gentleman.  Now 
did  I  ever  so  much  as  raise  my  little  finger  to  your 
ladyship  ?  You  know  I  didn't.  And  yet  how  many 
times  haven't  you  ruined  the  butter  ?  You  never 
moistened  the  maize.  The  pigs  wouldn't  eat  it 
because  it  set  their  teeth  on  edge,  for  you  threw 
them  hard  raw  grain.  This  won't  do,  you  know  ! 
When  the  cows  calve,  who'll  be  there  to  see  to 
them  ?    And  who  is  there  to  clean  out  the  furnace  ? 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR    175 

The  mice  have  gnawed  away  the  sleeves  of  my 
jacket,  it's  all  in  rags.  Besides  that,  I  have  got 
into  the  way  of  saying,  "  Hie,  you  Jutka !  d'ye 
hear?"  and  then  she  knows  very  well  what  her 
duty  is  ;  and  when  I  strike  her  she  makes  no  bones 
about  it,  either.  I  couldn't  live  without  thrashing 
her  occasionally ;  it  does  my  back  good,  which 
would  else  grow  double ;  and  she  always  knows 
how  to  come  round  me  again.' " 

I  threw  my  sketch-book  and  my  palette  out  of 
my  hand,  and  flung  myself  down  on  my  back,  I 
laughed  so  much.  How  could  I  help  laughing? 
Bessy  laughed  too. 

"  I  can  laugh  mightily  at  it  now,  but  situated  as 
I  was  then,  his  words  were  so  many  lashes.  At 
last  I  flew  into  a  rage  and  attacked  Peter. 

"  '  Can't  you  say  straight  out  that  Miiki  Bagotay 
has  bribed  you  to  take  back  your  wife,  whom  you 
drove  away  on  his  account  ?  ' 

" '  Oh,  I  humbly  beg  your  pardon,  you  must  not 
say  that  I  am  bribed.  I  am  an  upright  man.  His 
honour,  my  lord  Bagotay,  gave  me  ten  head  of  oxen 
as  a  gift,  but  he  didn't  bribe  me.' 

"  My  heart  was  ready  to  break  at  these  words. 

"  Ten  head  of  oxen  indeed  !  For  the  sake  of 
this  peasant  I  had  sacrificed  my  whole  existence, 
the  world  in  which  I  had  hitherto  lived,  the  respect 
of  my  acquaintances,  my  ease  and  comfort.  I  had 
made  the  earnest  resolve  to  become  a  peasant 
woman  for  his  sake,  to  work,   do   without  things, 


176  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

suffer  penury,  and  when  once  I  had  recovered  my 
property,  to  give  it  all  to  him,  make  him  a  gentle- 
man according  to  his  notion  of  a  gentleman,  and  the 
wretched  creature  had  bartered  me  for  ten  oxen  !  " 

I  hastened  to  explain  to  Bessy  that  this  was 
really  the  legally  appointed  fine  for  adultery  in  case 
the  affair  came  to  be  settled.  Verboczy  ^  says : 
"  Raptor  solvat  decern  juvencos,"  —  "  The  seducer 
must  pay  ten  oxen." 

Bessy  then  proceeded : — 

"  Peter  next  began  to  give  me  connsels  worthy  of 
a  patriarch. 

"  '  My  lady,  I've  only  one  thing  to  say.  Go  back 
to  his  lordship.  God's  my  witness  that  nothing 
will  befall  you.  Say  now,  Jutka — come,  on  your 
soul  be  honest — have  I  so  much  as  touched  you 
with  my  little  finger  since  you  came  back?  His 
lordship,  too,  knows  all  about  it.  He  will  close  one 
eye.  Let's  look  upon  the  matter  as  if  he  and  I 
had  been  wrestling  together,  and  first  one  had  had 
a  fall  and  then  the  other.  One  box  on  the  ears 
deserves  another.     So  it  is  among  men  of  honour ! ' " 

"  Oh,  don't  make  me  laugh  so,  or  I  cannot  go  on 
sketching!"  said  I  to  Bessy,  with  the  tears  in  my  ej'es. 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  can  find  to  laugh  at,  I 
could  cry  for  vexation  even  now." 

*  The  great  Hungarian  jurist  (1460-1541),  and  one  of  the 
most  eminent  statesmen  of  his  day.  His  opus  magnum, 
entitled  "  Tripartitum  opus  juris  consultudinarii  inclyti  regni 
Hungarian,"  was  first  published  in  1517. — Te. 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   177 

"  Why,  that  of  itself  is  enough  to  make  one 
laugh !  " 

Bessy  continued  :— 

"But  then  the  woman  began  talking  nicely  to 
me,  which  was  ever  so  much  worse.  '  Come,  come, 
my  dear,  good,  pretty  lady,  have  respect  for  your 
nice,  handsome,  lawful  lord.  Why,  what  a  fine 
gentleman    it    is!     Why,   if   I  hadn't   my  Peter 

"  *  You  manage  to  forget  that,  though,  pretty 
often  ! '  intervened  Peter. 

"  The  long  and  short  of  it  all  was  that  I  had  to 
resume  the  clothes  I  had  left  behind  me,  and  restore 
to  Jutka  the  draggle-tail  rags  which  she  had 
charged  me  with  spoiling.  But  what  objection 
could  I  make  ?  What  belongs  to  another  is  his,  so 
I  began  to  strip  off  my  frock  and  neckerchief  before 
the  pair  of  them  straightaway. 

"  The  other  woman  then  got  a  bit  ashamed  on  my 
account.  '  Let  us  go  into  the  inner  room,'  said  she  ; 
and  drew  me  into  the  little  chamber,  and  took  out 
of  her  wardrobe  the  lordly  raiment  I  had  left  there, 
and  then  helped  me  to  dress.  And  all  the  time  she 
was  so  mild,  so  friendly,  and  quite  lost  herself  in 
rustic  caresses  and  flatteries :  '  Why,  what  a  nice 
slim  waist !  What  a  shame  that  a  mere  clown 
should  clasp  it  round !  What  lovely  white  shoulders ! 
What  a  sin  to  ruin  them  by  carrying  about  heavy 
loads !  And  how  swollen  the  little  feet  are  from 
much  walking  !     Why,  they'll  scarcely  go  into  tlie 


178  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

old  dress-boot,  I  do  declare !  Why  fly  into  such 
tantrums  about  such  trifles  !  Good  gracious  me ! 
suppose  every  lady  who  caught  her  lord  with  a 
little  milkmaid  were  to  carry  on  with  the  first 
clown  that  fell  in  her  way !  Things  like  that 
should  not  be  taken  so  seriously.  A  man  is  but  a 
man,  especially  if  he  is  a  gentleman  !  Why,  I've 
seen  countesses  even,  whose  husbands  went  on  the 
loose.  You  expect  too  much,  my  dear  !  Chocolate 
is  the  nicest  dish  in  the  whole  world  ;  but  if  one 
were  to  give  one's  husband  nothing  but  chocolate 
every  day,  he  would  soon  loathe  the  very  sight  of 
it.  Come,  come !  go  home,  dear  heart,  my  darling 
ladykin,  to  your  dear  good  lord  and  master,  and 
you'll  see  how  heartily  he'll  receive  you ! ' 

"  I  replied  that  I  would  never  go  back  to  him 
again.  I  wept  for  shame.  The  woman  guessed  the 
cause  of  my  tears. 

"  *  Come,  come,  good  heart !  Why,  my  lady,  we'll 
all  of  us  agree  to  deny  that  this  little  hohday  ever 
happened.  We  were  talking  about  it  just  now. 
We'll  lie  the  thing  away,  and  say  that  your  lady- 
ship only  wanted  to  frighten  the  good  gentleman, 
and  that  you  were  hiding  the  whole  time  at  the 
house  of  the  local  magistrate.' 

"'And  how  about  the  flower-selling  in  the  market- 
place, and  the  promenade  through  the  waters  ? ' 

"  '  We'll  say  that  that  was  only  done  out  of  spite. 
How  should  a  dirty  clown  like  my  husband  presume 
to  cast  his  eyes  on  such  a  precious  treasure  as  your 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   179 

ladyship  ?  Why,  anybody  who  could  believe  such  a 
thing  would  be  called  a  downright  fool.  We'll  put 
it  all  to  rights  finely.' 

"  *  But  a  separation  suit  is  already  going  on  ? ' 

"  *  Your  ladyship  needn't  trouble  your  head  about 
that.  His  honour  has  withdrawn  his  complaint. 
Yes,  I  declare  he  has.  He  told  me  he  was  in  great 
embarrassment.  He  had  been  deprived  of  his  tithes 
and  land  tax,  and  did  not  know  whither  to  turn  for 
money.  The  gentlemen  up  at  Pest  had  reintro- 
duced the  morgatonuin,  or  whatever  the  plaguy 
thing  is  called,  which  as  good  as  said  that  all  the  old 
debts  were  not  to  be  paid,  but  that  no  new  debts 
were  to  be  made.  Now,  if  he  is  divorced  from  your 
ladyship,  he  wiU  have  to  pay  you  back  youi'  100,000 
florins,  and  then  he'll  be  ruined.     That's  a  fact.' 

"  A  light  began  to  dawn  upon  me.  This  garru- 
lous little  peasant  woman  had  let  out  the  secret 
why  my  idyll  had  terminated  so  abruptly.  A  very 
pretty  twice-two  certainly  !  They  receive  me  back 
like  a  pupil  returning  to  school  after  the  vacation. 
For  that  very  reason  I  resolved  I  would  not  go 
back. 

"  When  I  was  dressed  again  in  my  old  clothes, 
she  opened  the  little  door  and  readmitted  me  into 
the  larger  apartment.  Peter  was  now  tricked  out 
in  his  grandest  array.  He  had  donned  his  Sunday 
mantle,  drawn  on  his  new  boots,  and  stood  before 
me  hat  in  hand.  He  was  as  humble  as  a  lackey. 
He  kissed  my  hand,  and  I   noticed  now  for  the 


180  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

first  time  how  very  bristly  his  chin  was.  When 
he  spoke  it  sounded  like  the  whining  voice  of 
a  burnt-out  beggar-man  who  stands  at  the  stable- 
door  and  begs  an  alms. 

" '  I  kiss  your  gracious  hands,  my  lady.  I  humbly 
beg  pardon  if  I  have  offended  you  in  any  way.  I 
didn't  mean  to  do  it.  Forgive  me  my  fault,  and  I'll 
never  do  it  again.' 

"  At  this  I  knew  not  whether  to  laugh  or  to  cry. 

"  Then  he  got  quite  touched,  and  wiped  his  eyes 
with  the  flapping  sleeves  of  his  shirt. 

"  Behind  the  door  stood  a  stout  willow- wood  stick, 
which  he  laid  hold  of.  I  wondered  what  he  was 
•going  to  do  with  it.  Would  he  give  it  to  me  as  a 
staff  for  my  pilgrimage  ? 

"  *  Permit  me,  your  ladyship,  to  accompany  you 
as  far  as  the  castle.  Some  evil  might  befall  you  on 
the  way.  There  are  bad  men  about.  The  dogs 
might  bark  at  you,  and  the  bull  is  quite  savage.' 

"  '  But  I  am  not  going  to  the  castle,'  I  said. 

"  He  gaped  at  me.     *  Whither  away,  then  ?  ' 

" '  That's  my  business !  The  road  goes  up,  and 
the  road  goes  down.  I'll  go  whichever  way  the 
wind  blows.' 

"  Then  he  raUied  all  the  wisdom  he  possessed,  and 
preached  a  sermon  to  me  with  all  the  unction  of  an 
Old  Testament  patriarch. 

"'Don't  do  that,  my  dear  good  lady!  Don't 
grieve  your  good  and  loving  lord!  There's  not  a 
better  man  in  the  world.     Allow  me  to  accompany 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   181 

you  home,  I'll  keep  well  behind — twenty  yards  if 
you  like.' 

"I  stamped  my  foot  impatiently,  and  bawled  at  him 
to  come  away  from  the  door  and  let  me  go  my  way. 

"  Then  it  was  that  Peter  showed  his  true  colours. 

"  'My  lady,  this  cannot  be !  The  good  and  worthy 
squire,  when  he  gave  me  the  ten  oxen  to  take  back 
my  wife,  said  this  to  me  :  "  Well !  Peter  Gyuricza, 
if  you  bring  my  wife  home  also,  ten  young  calves 
shan't  stand  between  us." ' 

(The  rocks  and  woods  re-echoed  with  my  laughter. 
I  couldn't  keep  it  back.) 

"  Then  my  fury  boiled  over.  You  know  that 
when  I  fly  into  a  rage  I  am  a  perfect  lioness,  don't 
you?  I  snatched  the  stick  from  Peter  Gyuricza's 
hand.  '  Lubber,  lout !  I'll  give  you  your  ten  young 
calves !  There  you  are,  take  them  ! '  I  don't  know 
whether  I  gave  him  exactly  ten  blows.  I  didn't 
count  them.  And  the  big  lout  of  a  man  turned  tail, 
rushed  into  the  room,  dodged  round  the  table,  and 
roared  like  a  hippopotamus,  while  I  broke  the  stick 
over  his  shoulders.  His  consort  thought  it  best  not 
to  interfere,  but  leaped  upon  the  bench  and  looked 
on.  It  was  a  real  luxury  for  her  to  meet  with  some 
one  who  could  thoroughly  trounce  her  tyrant. 

"I  only  wish  my  previous  journey  had  not 
fatigued  me  so  much. 

"  I  began  to  recover  a  little  when  I  found  myself 
out  in  the  fields,  and  the  breeze  blew  the  heat  out 
of  my  head.    My  idyll  had  come  to  a  pretty  end. 


182  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

What  was  I  to  do  now  ?  One  thing  was  certain,  I 
could  not  return  to  Muki  Bagotay. 

"  But  whither  was  I  to  go,  then  ? 

"  Before  me  lay  the  beautiful  Danube.  The  road 
by  the  dam  ran  all  the  way  along  it.  From  time  to 
time  I  leaned  against  an  old  willow-tree  and  looked 
at  the  great  living  water.  Now  and  then  a  fish 
would  leap  up  into  the  air  with  a  loud  splash.  I 
was  not  afraid  of  the  water,  but  of  the  fishes  I  was 
afraid.  I  could  not  kill  myself.  I  should  have  re- 
joiced, if  that  had  been  true  with  which  they  used 
to  frighten  us  in  our  childish  days  when  we  leaned 
over  the  bank  and  looked  into  the  water :  Beware  of 
the  devil  who  lurks  behind  j^ou  and  will  push  you 
in !  But  he  didn't  push  me  in.  The  devil  can  do 
nothing  now.  He  cannot  compete  at  all  with  the 
sons  of  men.  But  was  it  really  worth  while  to  kill 
myself  for  the  sake  of  two  such  men  as  Muki  Bago- 
tay and  Peter  Gyuricza?  No,  my  death  would  then 
have  been  as  ridiculous  as  my  life ! 

"  I  thought  I  would  go  home  to  my  mother.  She 
couldn't  exactly  turn  me  out  of  doors.  Let  her 
punish  me  as  she  will — I'll  humble  myself ;  I'll  bow 
down  before  her ;  I'll  endure  her  wrath.  After  all, 
is  she  not  my  mother,  and  am  I  not  her  only  child  ? 
She  cannot  but  love  her  little  one.  From  any  one 
else  I  could  not  expect  to  find  pit^'  or  love.  Why,  I 
even  hated  myself ! 

"  With  these  thoughts  I  set  oflf  towards  the  town. 

"  It  was  baking  hot.    A  strong  south  wind  was 


THE  MEETING  AT   THE  PAGAN  ALTAR  183 

blowing,  as  dry  and  burning  as  if  it  had  come  out  of 
a  stove.  Clouds  of  sand  covered  the  whole  region, 
and  whenever  a  gust  came,  I  had  to  take  refuge 
under  a  willow-tree,  lest  I  should  be  hurled  into  the 
dam.  I  can't  say  what  time  of  the  day  it  was,  but 
I  know  that  it  was  the  forenoon  to  me,  for  I  had 
eaten  nothing  yet  that  day.  The  Gyuriczas  had 
forgotten  to  invite  me  to  sit  down  to  their  dump- 
lings. ...  To  quench  my  thirst,  I  descended 
once  or  twice  to  the  Danube  and  drank  some  water 
out  of  the  palm  of  my  hand.  On  the  road-side  I 
found  a  flower  which  I  thought  was  a  cheese-poppy. 
I  tasted  it,  but  it  was  very  nasty.  Weary  as  I  was, 
I  must  hasten  to  get  to  the  town  as  soon  as  possible. 
I  should  have  been  glad  even  of  such  a  piece  of  bread 
as  I  used  to  distribute  to  the  beggars  at  home  on 
Friday. 

"  I  was  hastening  on  towards  the  town,  when 
suddenly  a  kind  of  darkness  rose  up  before  me  in 
the  sky,  and  on  looking  at  it  more  attentively,  I 
was  horrified  to  observe  that  in  the  town  a  fire  had 
broken  out,  the  black  smoke  of  which  was  rolling 
up  into  the  dust-clouded  sky, 

"  The  burning  simoon  blew  back  the  black  smoke 
upon  the  town.  Great  Heaven!  the  whole  town 
will  be  reduced  to  ashes. 

"  And  now  I  began  to  run.  I  forgot  that  I  was 
weary,  I  forgot  that  I  was  hungry.  Fear  lent  me 
fresh  strength.  The  nearer  I  got  to  the  town  the 
higher  the  smoke  rolled  up.     Now,  however,  it  was 


184  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

not  black,  but  red.  Millions  of  sparks  shot  flashing 
upwards,  and  huge  fragments  of  flaming  roofs  were 
to  be  seen  flying  in  the  midst  of  them.  When  a 
tiled  house  caught  fire,  the  burning  tiles  shivered 
like  fiery  rockets  in  every  direction.  A  whole  street 
was  already  in  flames  when  I  reached  the  town. 
Howling  heaps  of  men,  carts  and  carriages  in  full 
career,  wailing  women,  children  half  crushed  and 
suffocated ,  and  in  the  midst  of  them  all  lowing  kine 
and  oxen  wildly  struggling  back  into  their  dark 
stables  at  the  sight  of  the  conflagration — the  whole 
mass  was  rushing  backwards  and  forwards  in  aim- 
less confusion.  I  forced  my  way  into  a  side  street, 
lest  I  should  be  crushed  to  death,  with  the  intention 
of  getting  home  that  way.  Everywhere  I  encoun- 
tered lamenting  crowds  attempting  to  drag  along 
the  streets  the  things  they  had  saved  from  their 
houses.  Nobody  thought  of  extinguishing  the 
flames.  The  burning  embers  fell  in  torrents.  When 
I  got  to  my  mother's  house  I  found  it  already  wrap- 
ped in  flames.  It  was  the  highest  house  in  the 
street.  A  handful  of  Honveds  were  attempting  to 
extinguish  the  flames.  Others  had  mounted  on  the 
roof,  and  were  throwing  the  furniture  out  of  the 
windows.  I  saw  a  gold-framed  picture  flying 
through  the  air — it  was  the  portrait  of  my  poor 
father.  Oh !  he  indeed  used  to  love  me.  If  he  had 
only  lived,  I  should  not  be  what  I  am  now.  There 
were  none  but  strange  faces  around  me.  In  vain  I 
asked  them  where  my  mother  was.     They  had  not 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR    185 

heard  of  her.  All  at  once  a  white-collared  officer, 
some  major  or  other  I  suppose,  came  up  and  cried 
to  the  fire-extinguishing  Honveds,  'Why  are  you 
putting  out  that  fire?  It  doesn't  deserve  it.  It 
was  there  that  the  colonel  lodged  who  set  the  town 
on  fire  !  Leave  the  cursed  hole  alone,  and  go  and 
protect  the  hospital ! '  I  knew  not  whether  I  had 
gone  mad  or  not.  Why  did  they  curse  our  house  ? 
The  Honveds  began  execrating  the  name  of  a  colonel 
who  had  often  come  to  our  soirees.  If  they  recog- 
nise me,  I  thought,  perhaps  they'll  pitch  me  into  the 
fire  also.  One  heavy  cart  after  another  rattled  over 
my  poor  father's  portrait.  I  couldn't  even  save 
that.  I  was  aroused  from  my  benumbing  stupor  by 
a  fj-ightful  yell,  the  shout  of  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  men :  '  Saint  Andrew's  Church  is  burning ! ' 
One  of  the  slender  towers  of  that  vast  cathedral  was 
already  in  flames,  while  in  the  other  the  alarm-bells 
were  ringing  furiously.  The  mob  carried  me  with 
it.  Every  one  hastened  along  to  save  the  church. 
But  it  was  already  too  late.  The  other  tower  had 
also  caught  fire,  the  bells  were  silenced,  the  roof  of 
the  church  was  also  ablaze.  The  beautiful  church 
banners,  which  the  guildsmen  used  to  carry  all 
round  the  toAvn  with  great  pomp  on  Corpus  Christi 
day,  were  dragged  out  half  charred  amidst  the  fall- 
ing firebrands.  The  heat  was  so  temble  that  one 
could  not  remain  in  the  market-place.  '  The  whole 
town's  done  for ! '  cried  the  men.  '  Let  us  fly  to 
the  island  ! '    And  with  that  the  human  flood  poured 


186  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

through  the  narrow  streets  towards  the  Danube. 
The  thought  occurred  to  me  that  there  weis  a  little 
villa  which  belonged  to  us.  Happy  thought !  Per- 
haps I  might  find  my  mother  there :  she  might  have 
fled  there  for  refuge.  So  I  went  along  with  the 
human  torrent.  By  the  time  we  got  to  the  island 
drawbridge,  it  was  impossible  to  get  any  farther 
through  the  densely  packed  crowd.  Why  were 
they  coming  back?  Because  the  drawbridge  was 
also  burning.  It  was  a  terrible  spectacle.  The 
whole  Danube  shore  was  in  flames,  and  the  draw- 
bridge leading  to  the  island  carried  the  conflagra- 
tion still  farther.  The  Danube  was  hissing  with 
falling  red-hot  beams.  Corn-ships,  windmills,  swam 
blazing  along,  and  dashed  against  the  ice-breakers. 
A  band  of  armed  Honveds  posted  by  the  custom- 
house kept  the  people  back  from  rushing  upon  the 
burning  bridge.  They  told  us  what  had  happened. 
There  was  a  greater  danger  even  than  fire.  An 
Imperial  regiment  had  tried  to  creep  quietly  into 
the  town.  They  were  already  at  Tata.  The  citi- 
zens, however,  had  found  it  out,  and  raised  the 
drawbridge  against  them.  The  troops,  enraged  at 
the  failure  of  their  stratagem,  had  set  the  town  on 
fire.  What  a  cursing  there  was  !  I  heard  one  par- 
ticular name  branded  again  and  again,  the  name  of 
the  colonel  who  was  to  have  married  my  mother  if 
the  revolution  had  not  intervened." 

I  could  not  go  on  with  my  drawing.     The  mist  no 
longer  lay  upon  the  landscape,  but  upon  my  eyes. 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   187 

The  ^oung  lady  continued  circumstantially  the 
history  of  those  horrors : — 

"  Then  three  cannon-shots  thundered  from  the 
fortress.  No  doubt  it  was  only  a  signal  which  the 
troops  often  give  in  times  of  fire.  But  at  this 
roaring  of  guns  the  fear  of  the  people  became  still 
greater.  '  The  enemy  is  storming  the  town  ! '  At 
this  the  whole  crowd,  which  had  hitherto  entirely 
covered  the  Danube's  bank,  immediately  rushed 
back  again  into  the  burning  town,  through  the 
flaming  streets  and  the  burning  rafters.  '  To  the 
Waag,  to  the  Waag ! '  ^  everybody  cried.  In  that 
direction  there  was  a  hope  of  deliverance.  I  am 
only  amazed  that  I  was  not  crushed  to  death.  In 
my  terror  I  seized  hold  of  a  boatman's  arm,  and  the 
worthy  man,  whom  I  had  never  seen  before,  allowed 
me  to  cling  on  to  him  like  grim  death  ;  assured  me 
that  he  would  take  care  I  was  not  left  behind,  and 
dragged  me  along  with  him  over  the  backs  of  the 
struggling  mob." 

Here  she  had  to  pause.  The  recollections  of  these 
horrors  stopped  her  breath.  Pearls  of  sweat  stood 
upon  her  forehead.  It  was  only  after  a  very  long 
pause  that  she  was  able  to  resume. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  that  day.  The  alarm-bells 
were  still  pealing  from  a  single  tower,  the  tower  of 
the  Calvinist  church.  All  the  other  church  towers 
were  in  ashes,  this  one  alone  remained.  The  wind 
was  blowing  in  a  contrary  direction.  The  fire  had 
*  A  confluent  of  tlie  Danube. 


188  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

not  yet  extended  to  that  part  of  the  town.  Every 
one  hastened  in  the  direction  of  the  Calvinist  church 
tower.  The  streets  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fortress 
were  barred  against  the  flying  crowd  by  the  Honved 
regiments ;  the  only  street  by  which  it  was  possible 
to  get  to  the  Waag  was  Sunday  Street.  This 
also  was  half  in  flames,  but  from  where  Great  St. 
Michael  Street  cuts  across  it,  it  still  remained 
untouched.  Your  house  was  the  border  building 
beyond  which  the  fire  had  not  yet  extended,  but 
the  inn  at  the  opposite  corner  was  burned  to  the 
ground.  Oh,  that  dear  familiar  house,  with  those 
cool  corridors,  and  those  red  marble  columns, -on  the 
iron  cross-bars  of  which  you,  as  a  boy,  so  often  used 
to  show  off  your  acrobatic  feats  before  me !  The 
thought  occurred  to  me  of  seeking  sanctuary  there 
in  my  great  extremity.  At  one  time  I  was  wont 
to  be  heartily  welcomed  there.  It  is  true  that  I 
had  sinned  grievously  against  that  house,  and  the 
lady  had  reproached  me  with  it  to  my  face.  I  had 
laughed  at  her  son,  and  that  laughter  had  driven 
him  out  into  the  world.  But  in  seasons  of  great 
calamity  wrath  is  forgotten.  I  would  seek  a  refuge 
there  with  your  mother.  Such  were  my  thoughts 
when  I  saw  your  mother's  house.  That  sight  I 
shall  never  forget.  There  stood  the  good  old  lady 
on  the  threshold  of  her  house,  in  that  very  brown 
dress,  that  very  frilled  turban  in  which  you  painted 
her  portrait.  Whenever  she  recognised  anybody 
among   the   flying    crowd,   she   stopped   him,   and 


THE  MEETING  AT  THE  PAGAN  ALTAR   180 

asked,  *  Have  you  not  seen  my  son  ? '  and  when  he 
replied,  '  I  have  not ! '  she  would  wring  her  hands 
and  sob  bitterly,  *  Oh,  Holy  Father !  why  is  not  my 
son  here? '" 

Alas  !  what  was  the  matter  with  my  eyes  ?  They 
suddenly  filled  with  something. 

The  young  lady  continued  her  story : — 

"  When  I  heard  your  mother  sajdug  these  words, 
I  was  possessed  with  fresh  horror.  It  never  occurred 
to  me  that  you  had  an  elder  brother  who  was  the 
guardian  of  the  orphan  wards  of  the  tovv^n,  and  that 
his  proper  place  then  was  in  the  Town  Hall,  with 
the  roof  blazing  over  his  head,  trying  to  save  the 
property  of  the  orphans.  I  dared  not  go  along  that 
side  of  the  street ;  I  crossed  over  to  the  other  side. 
Suppose  she  were  to  seize  me  also  and  ask  :  '  What 
have  you  done  with  my  son  ?  But  for  those 
accursed,  colour-shifting  eyes  of  yours,  he  would 
now  be  beside  me,  he  would  never  have  left  me 
all  alone  ! '  I  dared  not,  I  dared  not  meet  her  eye. 
I  would  rather  endure  the  sight  of  my  own  mother's 
angry  face  than  the  tearful  look  of  your  mother.  I 
hid  my  face  in  my  hands,  and  hurried  past." 

She  could  say  no  more.  She  let  her  face  fall  on 
my  breast,  and  sobbed  aloud. 


CHAPTER  Xm 

WHAT   HAPPENED  AFTEB   THAT 

TTTHEN  she  again  lifted  up  her  face,  her  eyes 
'  '  were  like  a  somnambulist's  gazing  fixedly 
in  the  moonlight.  They  appeared  absolutely  dark- 
blue,  so  much  were  the  irises  distended.  Her  voice 
was  quite  low. 

"  The  whole  picture  is  stUl  vividly  before  my 
eyes.  The  greater  part  of  the  town  was  in  flames. 
It  must  have  been  evening.  The  sound  of  the  clock 
in  the  Calvinist  church  tower  mingled  with  the  peal 
of  the  alarm-bells.  The  clock  struck  eight,  the 
alarm-bells  five.  The  people  counted  the  strokes  : 
exactly  thirteen.  The  sun  shone  no  longer,  but  the 
whole  vault  of  heaven  was  alight ;  the  fiery  reflec- 
tion of  the  thick  clouds  of  smoke  made  a  hellish 
daylight,  and  in  the  midst  of  this  terrible  illumina- 
tion, like  some  dread  idol,  rose  the  tower  of  the 
Calvinist  church,  with  its  large  copper  roof,  and  its 
spire  with  the  great  gold  ball  and  star.  Star  and 
ball  glowed  like  phantoms  from  the  world  beyond 
the  grave.  The  crackling  of  the  fire  roared  down 
the  howling  of  the  beasts  and  the  cries  of  ten 
thousand  terrified  men.    In  that  part  of  the  town 

190 


n'//AT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  191 

where  the  carters  dwelt,  carts,  horses  and  oxen,  and 
their  owners  were  all  huddled  together  in  one  dense 
mass.  To  move  was  an  impossibility.  Then  upon 
this  howling,  cursing,  blaspheming  multitude  came 
pouring  that  mass  of  men  which  had  fought  its  way 
from  the  banks  of  the  Danube  through  the  burning 
town,  with  the  terrifying  cry,  *  The  enemy  has 
attacked  the  town ! '  By  this  time  the  alarming 
rumour  had  gained  such  proportions  that  there  were 
those  who  said  they  had  actually  seen  the  enemy's 
soldiers  entering  the  town.  '  They  are  burning, 
they  are  plundering — fly!  fly!'  Some  even  ex- 
claimed, '  They  are  about  to  bombard  the  captured 
town  from  the  fortress ! '  All  at  once  the  whole 
street,  as  far  as  the  Waag  bridge,  was  filled  with 
flying  vehicles.  In  my  terror  I  had  clutched  hold 
of  the  mud-splasher  of  one  of  these  vehicles  as  it 
came  tearing  along,  and  ran  along  after  it  till  there 
"was  scarcely  a  breath  left  in  my  body.  My  light 
buskins  were  completely  worn  off  my  feet  and  full 
of  gravel.  I  had  no  time  to  stop  and  empty  them. 
This  particular  carriage  had  excellent  horses  in  it, 
and  the  coachman  did  not  spare  his  whip.  Two 
women,  dressed  in  peasants'  hoods,  were  sitting  in 
this  carriage.  I  was  astonished  that  they  should 
wrap  themselves  up  so  closely  in  their  hoods, 
and  cover  their  heads  with  big  kercliiefs,  when 
such  an  infernal  heat  was  blazing  all  around  us, 
from  the  earth,  from  the  sky,  and  from  every  side 
of  us. 


192  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  The  coachman  reached  the  Waag  bridge  safely 
before  the  other  fugitive  carriages  had  blocked  up 
the  way.  At  the  entrance  they  had  to  stop,  for  there 
the  custom-house  officers  demanded  the  bridge-tolls. 
That  the  whole  town  was  in  flames  mattered  not  a 
button  to  them,  all  they  wanted  was  their  tolls. 
One  of  the  women  handed  them  an  Austrian  bank- 
note for  100  florins.  The  toll-collector  could  not 
give  change.  A  queer  sort  of  peasant  woman,  truly, 
who  had  no  smaller  change  than  a  bank-note  for 
100  florins  !  While  they  were  haggling  about  it,  it 
occurred  to  me  that  I  was  now  wearing  my  genteel 
clothes,  and  that  in  the  pockets  there  was  sure  to  be 
a  silver  tizes^  for  any  beggar  I  might  chance  to  meet 
on  my  way.  So  I  went  up  and  said  to  the  peasant 
women :  '  I've  got  a  tizes  which  I'll  give  to  the  toll- 
collector  ;  all  that  I  ask  is  that  you  will  take  me  in 
your  carriage — there's  room  for  me  beside  the  coach- 
man. I  don't  mind  where  you  take  me.'  At  this, 
one  of  the  women  called  to  the  coachman :  '  Don't 
let  that  girl  get  up,  we  won't  have  her.'  Then  they 
told  the  toll-collector  that  he  might  keep  the  100- 
florin  note  if  he  couldn't  give  them  change,  if  only 
he  would  let  their  coachman  go  on.  I  was  horrified 
at  such  inhumanity.  What  a  heartless  woman  it 
must  be  who,  in  such  a  time  of  peril,  could  refuse  a 
fugitive  girl  a  place  in  her  carriage,  and  who,  rather 
than  do  so,  preferred  to  sacrifice  a  bank-note  for  100 
florins,  peasant  though  she  was !  In  my  indigna- 
*  The  tenth  part  of  a  florin. 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  193 

tion  I  tore  the  big  muffling  clout  from  the  head  of 
the  peasant  woman  and  discovered  her  face.  And 
now  my  blood  froze  to  ice.  I  recognised  my  own 
mother!  'Mother,  dear  mother!'  I  cried,  'don't 
you  know  me  ?  I  am  your  own  little  girl,  Bessy  1 ' 
Then  my  mother,  pulling  up  the  collar  of  her  mantle 
over  her  face,  said,  in  a  simulated  peasant  voice: 
'Be  off !  Don't  bother  us !  1  don't  know  the  girL 
I'm  not  your  mother.     Let  go  my  kerchief ! ' 

"  I  thought  I  was  going  mad.  My  own  mother 
wouldn't  know  me !  She  wouldn't  let  me  get  into 
her  carriage.  Like  lightning  the  thought  flashed 
through  my  mind  that  she  it  was  whom  the  people 
were  cursing  so.  No  doubt  they  were  cursing  her 
unjustly,  but  in  such  times  as  these  that  mattered 
little.  Whomsoever  the  popular  fury  points  out  is 
condemned  already.  I  could  not  betray  my  own 
mother.  I  hastily  threw  my  silver  coin  to  the  toll- 
collector  that  they  might  let  the  carriage  go  on.  I 
thought  that  if  once  we  got  beyond  the  bridge,  and 
my  mother  had  no  further  fear  of  pursuit,  she 
would  take  me  into  the  carriage.  So  catching  hold 
of  the  back  part  of  the  vehicle,  I  ran  on  beside  the 
carriage  till  we  had  got  beyond  the  trenches  of  the 
fortress  and  out  upon  the  highway.  Then  I  again 
began  to  supplicate,  so  far  as  my  gasping  voice 
would  allow  me :  '  Mother,  dear,  good  mother !  take 
me  into  the  carriage ;  I  am  dropping.  I  can  go  no 
farther.'  They  would  not  hear  me.  They  only 
cursed  and   scolded  :    'Be  off !     Decamp  1 '     And 

o 


194  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

when  I  still  persisted  in  clinging  on,  they  at  last 
seized  my  fingers,  which  were  still  clutching  the 
splasher,  violently  wrenched  them  off,  and  gave 
me  a  rough  push  so  that  I  fell  at  full  length  into 
the  highway.     Then  the  carriage  rolled  on  farther. 

"  I  had  held  out  till  then,  but  now  my  strength 
failed  me.  I  trembled  so  that  I  could  no  longer 
stand  upon  my  legs.  Utterly  crushed  in  mind  and 
body  by  the  sufferings  of  that  terrible  day,  I  dragged 
myself  on  my  knees  to  the  edge  of  the  wayside 
ditch.  My  instinctive  fear  of  death  told  me  that  I 
must  avoid  the  middle  of  the  road  if  I  didn't  want  to 
be  trampled  to  death.  There  then  I  lay  clinging  to 
a  roadside  poplar,  gazing  apathetically  at  the  dread- 
ful scene.  The  fugitive  vehicles  dashed  madly  along 
the  highway  in  threes  and  fours,  colliding  every 
moment.  The  cursing  and  swearing  were  something 
awful.  Every  now  and  then  one  conveyance  over- 
turned another  into  the  ditch,  and  the  women  who 
were  sitting  in  them  screamed  and  cried  most 
piteously.  One  coachman  hit  upon  the  foolhardy 
idea  of  forcing  his  way  through  the  ditch  into  the 
open  field,  and  others  followed  his  example.  They 
came  so  close  to  me  as  to  all  but  run  over  me,  and 
I  had  not  sufficient  strength  left  to  draw  up  my 
legs  out  of  reach  of  their  revolving  wheels. 

"  Then  the  blast  of  trumpets  mingled  with  the 
hurly-burly.  A  regiment  of  Hussars  was  trying  to 
cut  its  way  through  the  fugitive  carriages  with  a 
convoy  of  hay-waggons,   which,  as  was  explained 


IVHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER  THAT  195 

to  me  later  on,  the  Commandant  of  the  fortress 
was  transferring  from  the  burning  town  to  the 
village  of  Izsa  across  the  "Waag.  The  commanding 
officer  was  cursing  and  swearing,  and  striking  all 
the  coachmen  he  met  with  the  flat  of  his  sword  for 
stopping  his  soldiers'  way.  '  Damned  rascals !  in- 
stead of  putting  out  the  fire,  you  all  take  to  your 
heels.  What  the  devil  is  the  matter  with  you? 
There's  no  enemy  behind  you!  "Would  that  the 
souls  of  your  ancestors  could  revivify  you  ! ' 

"  The  voice  seemed  familiar  to  me,  but  the  face 
I  had  never  seen  before.  A  spiral  moustache,  a 
French  beard,  a  Hussar  uniform,  and  a  plumed  hat 
— I  had  never  seen  that  figure  before. 

"Thus  he  appeared  before  me  like  the  dragon- 
slaying  hero  of  a  fairy  tale. 

"  Hitherto,  of  all  those  who  scurried  past  me,  not 
one  had  noticed  the  wretched  creature  lying  in  the 
ditch.  Some  girl  or  other  quite  past  help,  they 
thought,  perhaps.     Nobody  took  any  notice  of  me. 

"  This  officer  did  notice  me.  In  the  midst  of  the 
greatest  turmoil  he  perceived  a  woman  lying  beneath 
his  horse's  feet.  He  hastily  reined  in  his  charger, 
and  called  me  by  my  name.  *  My  lady  Elizabeth  ! 
how  ever  did  you  come  here  ?  In  Heaven's  name, 
what  has  befallen  you  ? ' 

"  I  recognised  him  by  his  mode  of  addressing  me. 
There  was  only  one  man  who  used  to  address  me  in 
this  way,  the  man  who  taught  me  my  rdle  at  those 
famous  amateur  theatricals  that  you  remember. 


196  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

" '  Mr.  Balvanyossi !  Mr.  Director ! '  I  stammered, 
in  my  joy. 

"*No,  no!  Captain  Rengetegi  is  my  name. 
Why,  where  is  your  mother?  Eun  away?  She 
did  well.  Get  up,  my  lady,  into  my  carriage,  and 
I'll  take  you  now  to  a  place  of  safety.' 

"  *  I  cannot  get  up.' 

"Then  he  hastily  dismounted  from  his  horse, 
gave  his  bridle  to  his  orderly,  went  up  to  me, 
raised  me  in  his  arms,  carried  me  to  his  carriage, 
and  laid  me  down  there  among  sweet-smelling  hay, 

"  I  felt  just  as  if  I  had  been  placed  in  Paradise. 

"Then  he  threw  his  mantle  over  me.  It  was 
cold  outside  now,  and  a  strong  wind  was  blowing. 

"But  his  care  for  me  went  even  further  than 
that. 

" '  There  is  food  in  my  knapsack,  lady  Elizabeth. 
I  suppose  you  have  had  no  supper  to-day?  Take 
whatever  you  find  there.  There's  some  drink,  too, 
in  my  flask.  It  will  do  you  good.  You  have  nothing 
more  to  fear.  The  finger-pointing  virgin  still  stands 
there  on  the  bastions  of  our  fortress.' 

"Then  he  mounted  his  horse  again,  and  continued 
commanding  his  men  loudly  and  authoritatively  to 
force  their  way  through  the  crush  of  carts  and 
carriages  with  their  convoy  of  hay.  I  fancied  that 
I  saw  before  me  an  archangel. 

"I  didn't  wait  to  be  asked  twice.  As  soon  as 
I  was  able  to  get  hold  of  the  knapsack  of  victuals, 
I  stu£fed  myself  indiscriminately  with  all  it  con- 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  197 

tained — liam,  cake,  rolls.  I  gorged  like  a  wild 
beast  broken  loose  from  a  menagerie.  I  verily 
believe  tbat  if  my  bliss  in  Heaven  bad  depended 
upon  it,  I  would  have  renounced  it  for  that 
couch  of  soft  straw  and  those  greedily  devoured 
delicacies. 

"  When  I  had  satisfied  my  appetite  as  I  had  never 
done  before,  I  unscrewed  the  top  of  the  flask  and 
put  it  to  my  mouth.  I  didn't  taste  what  was  in 
it,  but  I  gulped  and  gulped  so  long  as  I  had  any 
breath  in  my  body,  as  much  as  my  thirst  craved. 
I  fancy  it  must  have  been  brandy.  When  I  couldn't 
drink  any  more  I  looked  all  about  me.  The  burning 
town  was  a  grand  illumination ;  in  the  midst  of  it 
was  the  Calvinist  church  tower — only  it  was  now 
not  one  tower,  but  three.  The  silly  thing  was 
dancing  a  pas  seul,  and  wagging  its  head  now  to 
the  right,  and  now  to  the  left,  and  all  the  people, 
and  the  horses,  and  the  coachmen,  and  the  hay-carts 
were  leaping  and  dancing,  like  wedding-guests  con- 
siderably the  worse  for  liquor. 

"  When  next  day  I  awoke  out  of  a  twenty-hours' 
sleep,  I  found  myself  in  the  room  of  a  peasant's 
house.  Two  men  were  holding  a  consultation  over 
me — the  camp-surgeon  and  *  he.'  '  How  do  you  find 
yourself,  lady  Elizabeth?  You  are  in  my  little 
room.' 

"  So  ever  since  then  I  have  been  the  lady 
Elizabeth." 

With  these  words  Bessy  rushed  to  the  edge  of 


198  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

the  steep  rock,  crossed  her  two  hands  over  het 
breast,  and  looked  over  her  shoulder  at  me. 

"  I  have  now  told  you  everything,  and  you  must 
judge  me.  You  have  no  need  to  push  me.  Give 
but  a  signal  with  your  finger  and  I'll  put  an  end 
to  myself ! " 

Horrified,  I  grasped  her  hand,  and  snatched  her 
away  from  the  dizzying  rocky  ledge. 

"Do  not  tempt  G-od!  Be  reasonable!"  And, 
not  without  some  little  force,  I  made  her  sit  down 
by  the  hot  embers. 

"  But  do  you  call  this  lifef  " 

"  Come,  come,  calm  yourself !  Look,  these  armed 
men  are  close  upon  us !  " 

They  were  not  gendarmes.  They  were  two 
worthy  foresters  belonging  to  the  domain  of  the 
Forests  of  Diosgyor — a  grey-bearded  old  man  with 
a  youthful  assistant. 

No  hostile  intentions  had  brought  them  thither. 
They  could  see,  too,  that  our  picnic  beside  the  fire 
was  a  very  innocent  diversion.  In  the  album  left 
upon  the  rock  was  my  unfinished  landscape. 

They  greeted  us  cordially,  and  I  returned  their 
greeting  in  like  manner.  I  asked  the  elder  man 
whether  I  was  injuring  any  one's  proprietorial 
rights  by  making  a  fire  with  other  people's  wood. 
If  so,  I  said,  I  would  make  good  the  trespass.  To 
which  the  old  man  replied  that  he  had  no  quarrel 
with  me  on  that  score.  Thp  stuff  was  there  for 
the  poor  man  to  gather,  and  he  cited  the  classical 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  199 

German  ballad  in  which  the  evil-minded  forester 
robbed  the  peasant  of  his  bundle  of  faggots.  He 
must  needs  be  a  lover  of  letters,  then ! 

Then  he  told  us  why  they  had  come. 

"  "We  perceived  the  smoke  from  below,  and  knew, 
therefore,  that  there  were  visitors  on  the  Precipice 
Stone.  We  thought  it  our  duty  to  come  up. 
Wolves  are  about  in  the  forest.  We  wished  to 
tell  you  so." 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  great  kindness  ;  but,  from 
what  I  am  told,  wolves  will  not  attack  a  man." 

"  But  they've  become  very  aggressive  since  they 
discovered  that  the  Government  has  confiscated  all 
muskets,  leaving  only  a  pair  or  two  with  us.  They 
avoid  men  in  the  day  time,  I  know  ;  but  at  dark 
or  in  a  snowstorm  they  are  very  impudent." 

"  We  do  not  intend  to  remain  here  till  evening. 
I  only  wanted  to  finish  the  drawing,  for  the  sake 
of  which  I  scrambled  up  hither." 

"  But  I  would  call  your  attention,  sir,  to  the  fact 
that  we  shall  have  a  fall  of  snow  here  before  night. 
I  know  the  signs  of  the  weather.  When  such  a 
vast  mist  lies  over  the  country  in  the  morning,  and 
then  rises  suddenly,  and  is  quickly  followed  by 
darkness,  then  we  may  expect  a  snowstorm  the 
same  day.     That  is  an  old  experience  of  mine." 

"  We  will  hasten  home." 

"  Do  you  live  at  Tordona,  or  at  Malyinka  ?  " 

"  I  live  at  Tordona." 

"  Qt)d  bless  you,  sir.     I  know  every  one  there." 


200  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

He  didn't  ask  who  I  was.  We  shook  hands,  and 
with  that  the  pair  of  them  went  on  their  way. 

"  "Was  it  worth  while  creeping  into  the  cave  for 
this?"  said  Bessy,  when  the  foresters  had  with- 
drawn. 

"  There  are  men  who  can  face  a  great  danger  and 
hide  away  from  a  little  one." 

"  And  you  think,  then,  that  our  friend  there  is  a 
fire-eater? — I  thought  so  too  for  a  long  time.  It 
was  no  unexampled  thing  in  those  extraordinary 
times  for  men  to  become  suddenly  transformed. 
Those  who  were  looked  upon  as  mere  carpet  knights 
became  veritable  heroes  ;  lawyers  became  colonels  : 
war  has  an  ennobling  influence  on  so  many  types 
of  character.  I  really  believed  that  Rengetegi  had 
changed  his  whole  nature  with  his  name.  When 
others  had  to  be  aroused,  there  was  no  such  orator 
as  he.  I  was  absolutely  proud  that  we  belonged 
to  each  other.  When  the  Austrian  troops  invested 
the  fortress,  and  hurled  the  first  bomb  into  the 
market-place,  the  whole  of  our  social  life  was 
suddenly  turned  upside  down.  There  was  now  no 
such  thing  as  etiquette.  The  families  of  great 
magnates  left  their  houses  (those,  that  is,  whose 
houses  were  not  burnt  down  already),  pitched  their 
tents  in  the  Gipsy-field  and  dwelt  there.  The 
guns  of  the  Monostor  batteries  did  not  carry  so 
far  as  that.  In  the  barracks,  moral  law  disappeared. 
An  officer  was  a  great  personage  then,  and  to  walk 
about  the  streets  leaning  on  his  arm  was  a  much- 


IV/fAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  201 

coveted  glory.  Whether  the  lady  on  his  arm  was 
his  wife  was  not  the  question — he  was  a  fine  fellow, 
a  gallant  fellow.  That  was  the  main  thing.  And 
if  I  met  an  acquaintance  I  introduced  Rengetegi  as 
my  future  husband.  Every  one  knew  that  I  had 
begun  a  suit  against  Muki  Bagotay.  But  where 
were  the  courts,  the  advocates,  the  judges  ? — every 
one  was  either  wearing  a  sword  or  serving  a  gun. 
"When  people  asked  me  where  I  lived,  I  said  '  in 
the  fortress  ! '  To  dwell  in  the  fortress  was  an 
enviable  position.  The  rooms  there  were  fire-proof. 
I  really  think  that  there  were  more  who  envied 
than  pitied  my  fate.  I  also  got  familiar  with  the 
ways  of  a  soldier's  life.  They  gave  concerts,  and 
I  fiddled  while  Reugetegi  declaimed.  When  the 
enemy  was  hurling  away  his  bombs  at  the  fortress, 
we  took  our  band  out  on  the  ramparts,  and  there, 
with  a  great  flourish  of  trumpets,  we  danced 
csdrddses.  How  that  did  aggravate  the  Germans ! 
I  had  a  great  reputation  as  a  raketds^  dancer." 

I  must  frankly  admit  that  I  was  not  much  edified 
by  this  turn  in  the  conversation. 

Bessy  perceived  that  I  was  not  well  pleased  with 
her  doings  in  camp. 

"  Ah,  my  dear  friend !  "  she  said,  "  don't  fancy 
by  any  means  that  this  episode  of  my  life  consisted 
entirely  of  rioting  and  revelry,  there  was  a  little 
intermezzo  in  it  also.  You  know,  of  course,  that, 
during  the  winter,  things  at  Comorn  were  very  bad 
*  Rocket-dance. 


202  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

indeed.  The  Commandant  had  not  the  capacity 
for  the  problem  before  him,  which  included  the 
defence  of  such  an  important  fortress.  The  garrison 
was  lazy  and  mutinous.  Whispers  of  treachery 
arose,  and  the  chief  of  the  artillery  was  deprived 
of  his  post.  It  was  necessary  to  inform  the  Hun- 
garian Government  at  Debreczin  of  the  dangerous 
state  of  things  at  Comorn,  and  to  beg  for  a  new 
Commandant  who  should  be  a  distinguished  officer. 
But  how  was  it  possible  to  carry  a  message  from 
Comorn  to  Debreczin  ?  Who  would  undertake  the 
risky  enterprise  of  carrying  the  despatch  from 
Comorn,  through  so  many  hostile  armies,  and  bring- 
ing back  the  reply  to  it  again  ?  They  had  sent 
one  messenger  already,  but  he  had  been  unable  to 
get  back.  It  was  a  joke  which  might  cost  a  man 
his  head. 

"  One  evening,  Rengetegi  came  to  my  little  room 
in  the  barracks,  and  said ;  *  Elizabeth,  the  hour  has 
come  for  us  to  part ! ' 

"  I  immediately  thought  that  he  was  tipsy. 

" '  You  haven't  played  me  away  at  cards,  I  hope  ? ' 

"  *  It  is  not  you,  but  my  own  head  that  I  have 
lost.  I  have  accepted  the  mission  to  Debreczin. 
I've  run  my  head  against  a  wall,  I  know.  It's  neck 
or  nothing  now.  And  they've  pressed  a  thousand 
florins  into  my  hand  to  make  the  way  before  me 
quite  secure.' 

"  'And  you  have  lost  it  all  at  cards  this  evening?  ' 

"  '  How  did  you  find  that  out  ?  ' 


iVI/AT  HAPPENED  AFTER  THAT  203 

" '  I  have  made  it  my  study.  I  know  well  those 
Hippocratic  countenances.  Well,  and  what  are  you 
going  to  do  now  ?  ' 

"  *  Save  my  honour !  I'll  go  on  my  way  without 
money.' 

"  '  Listen  to  me  !  I  believe  that  you  would  be 
very  glad  to  get  out  of  this  bombarded  fortress — 
but  I've  no  very  ardent  belief  that  you'll  ever  come 
back  again.  I  tell  you  what :  give  me  the  official 
despatch  which  has  to  be  taken,  and  I'll  take  care 
that  it  reaches  the  hands  of  the  Government.' 

"  '  But  how  ?  '  inquired  Rengetegi,  immensely 
delighted. 

" '  That  I  shall  not  tell  you.  I've  been  turning 
the  matter  over  for  some  time.  You  have  only  a 
passive  part  to  play  here.  You  hide  yourself  in  the 
village  of  Isza,  which  the  enemy  has  not  occupied, 
because  it  lies  within  the  range  of  the  guns  of  the 
fortress,  and  wait  for  me  there  till  I  return  from 
Debreczin  with  the  answer  of  the  Government.' " 

"And  E,enget«gi  actually  accepted  the  proposal  ?  " 
I  inquired.     I  now  began  to  admire  this  woman. 

"  He  jumped  at  it.  He  gave  me  soul-stirring 
examples  of  the  heroic  women  of  history,  who  had 
gone  to  the  wars  along  with  their  husbands,  .  ,  . 
He  vowed  that  if  I  ever  returned  in  safety  from 
my  mission  he  would  henceforth  call  me  '  Queen 
Zenobia.' 

"  By  the  evening  of  the  same  day  I  was  ready 
for  the  enterprise.     I  made  Rengetegi  dye  his  hair, 


204  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

moustache,  and  beard  black,  so  that  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  recognise  him." 

"  So  that  was  your  idea  !  "  I  cried. 

"  Then  I  stowed  him  away  in  a  peasant's  hnt  at 
Heteny,  with  strict  instructions  not  to  emerge  from 
his  prison  till  I  tapped  at  the  door.  Next  I  set  to 
work  to  thoroughly  disguise  my  own  person.  I 
was  to  be  the  leader  of  a  gipsy  band.  Ah !  if  you 
could  only  have  painted  my  portrait !  Then,  indeed, 
I  really  was  lovely !  I  smeared  my  face  with  the 
juice  of  green  walnut-shells  till  it  was  so  black  that 
I  could  pass  for  a  gipsy  among  the  gipsies  them- 
selves ;  I  clipped  my  hair  till  it  only  reached 
down  to  my  shoulders  ;  I  put  on  a  jacket  which 
some  gentleman  or  other  had  worn  threadbare 
before  giving  it  away  ;  hose  that  certainly  were 
never  intended  for  me,  and  a  shirt  that  had  never 
been  washed:  and  so  I  transformed  myself  into  as 
filthy  a  shape  as  ever  led  a  wandering  gipsy 
band." 

Here  I  could  not  forbear  from  pressing  her  hand. 
What  sacrifices  will  not  a  woman  make  for  her 
country  and  for  her  lover  ! 

"  But  all  this  was  a  mere  joke  to  what  followed. 
I  now  had  to  get  together  a  band.  If  they  catch  a 
gipsy  alone  they  arrest  him  as  a  spy ;  but  if  he  be 
one  of  a  quartet  he  may  go  on  his  way  rejoicing.  I 
provided  myself  with  a  violoncellist,  a  clarinet-player, 
and  a  contra-bass.  It  was  easy  to  persuade  them  to 
quit  the  bombarded  town,  into  which  the  gentry 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER    THAT  205 

who  had  robbed  them  of  their  poor  hovels  had  forced 
them  to  go.  Bread  and  meat  were  getting  dearer 
and  dearer,  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  earned. 
Who  had  the  heart  to  pay  for  music  amidst  such  a 
frightful  carnival  ? 

"Thus,  with  my  little  band  of  three,  I  set  out 
upon  my  long  and  uncertain  journey  on  foot. 
Gipsies  only  ride  in  sledges  when  a  magnate  sends 
for  them,  and  there  was  no  such  magnate  in  the 
whole  district.  If  on  our  way  we  fell  in  with  a  cart 
laden  with  dried  reeds  taken  out  of  the  swamps  for 
firewood,  we  would  ask  for  a  lift  in  it.  But  our  legs 
nearly  froze  there,  and  we  were  glad  to  get  down 
again  and  walk. 

"  In  the  very  first  village  we  came  to,  0-Gyalla, 
we  fell  in  with  a  division  of  the  Austrian  investing 
army,  German  cuirassiers.  The  patrol  brought  us 
to  the  major  in  command.  He  was  indeed  a  merci- 
less personage.  He  roared  at  us,  and  asked  us  how 
we  dared  to  leave  the  town.  We  naturally  did  not 
understand  a  word  of  German,  and  all  four  of  us,  in 
true  gipsy  fashion,  began  to  raise  objections  at  the 
same  time :  we  could  not  remain  in  the  town,  the 
Honveds  posted  us  right  in  front  of  the  bombs,  and 
made  us  play  music  at  the  very  top  of  the  bastions  ; 
all  the  cannons  had  fired  at  us,  and  that  was  a  thing 
that  gipsies  couldn't  stand.  '  Was  sagen  die  Spitz- 
buhenf^  inquired  the  major  of  his  auditor.  The 
auditor  understood  Hungarian,  and  expounded  unto 
him :  '  Nix  da,  you  rascals !    You  are  spies,  and  must 


206  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

be  searched.  Come !  you  must  undress.*  I  was  not 
a  little  alarmed,  I  can  tell  you.  Not  on  account  of 
the  despatches  I  had  with  me,  I  had  put  them  in  a 
place  where  they  couldn't  be  found ;  but  they  would 
discover  that  I  was  a  woman,  and  that  while  my 
face  and  hands  were  gipsy,  the  rest  of  me  was  Euro- 
pean— and  then  I  should  be  lost.  I  hastily  said 
something  to  the  gipsies,  and  in  an  instant  they  out 
with  their  instruments  and  rattled  off  con  fuoco  the 
fine  hymn  '  Gott  erhalte ! '  At  this  the  frosty  face  of 
the  old  martinet  thawed  somewhat.  'Well,  well, 
you  rascals,'  said  he,  '  as  you  know  what's  proper 
and  decent,  I  won't  have  you  flogged  this  time,  but 
be  off  at  once  and  don't  remain  in  the  village  here. 
You  mustn't  play  here  for  anybody.  Whoever  has 
an  itch  for  dancing  just  let  him  tell  me,  and  I'll  give 
him  dancing  enough.  There's  the  whipping-post ! ' 
Now  the  clarinet-player  was  a  merry  wag,  and  could 
not  hide  his  light.  '  Devil  bless  your  honour,'  said 
he,  'you  pay  with  big  bauk- notes.'  '  Was  sagt  der 
Karl  ? '  asked  the  major.  He  says,  *  Gott  soil  segnen 
den  grossen  Herren,  der  zahlt  mit  grossen  BanJc  ^- 
noten ! '  At  this  his  honour  also  laughed.  '  But  for 
all  that  you  must  pack  yourselves  off  at  once.  You 
mustn't  stop  till  you  reach  Ersekuvar,  but  there  you 
may  play  as  long  as  you  like.'  We  kissed  his  hands 
and  feet,  and  asked  him  to  let  us  stay  the  night 
there.    We  were  half  frozen,  we  said.     We  had  not 

*  "  God  bless  the  great  gentleman,  he  pays  with  big  bang- 
notes  ! " — a  poor  jest. 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  'Xfl 

a  morsel  in  our  stomaclis  :  for  a  whole  week  we  had 
only  eaten  ice  and  drunk  water.  But  he  knew  no 
pity.  They  blindfolded  us,  packed  us  into  a  sledge, 
and  a  patrol  of  horse  escorted  us  out  of  the  village. 
Now,  of  course,  it  was  my  very  dearest  desire  to  get 
as  soon  as  possible  beyond  the  iron  girdle  by  which 
the  besieged  fortress  was  girt  about.  If  only  he  can 
get  out  into  the  wide  world,  the  gipsy  has  no  fear  of 
going  astray.  He  can  fiddle  his  way  through  the 
whole  of  Europe  if  only  he  gives  his  mind  to  it. 
And  so  we  made  our  way  along  the  Danube,  from 
one  town  to  the  other,  and  enjoyed  to  the  full  all  the 
romantic  adventures  of  a  wandering  gipsy's  life 
which  abound  in  winter  especially." 

"  But,"  interrupted  I,  "  didn't  you  come  across 
Grorgej^'s  Hungarian  army,  under  whose  protection 
you  might  have  continued  your  journey  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  did,  but  my  instructions  were  to 
deliver  my  despatches  to  the  head  of  the  Hungarian 
Government,  and  nobody  else,  not  even  to  a  general. 
It  is  true  that  I  might  have  gone  on  farther  with 
the  gallant  Magyar  army,  where  gipsy-music  is 
always  heartily  welcomed.  The  Honveds,  too,  never 
lose  their  good  humour ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  main  Magyar  army  was  going  towards  Slavonia, 
whereas  it  was  my  object  to  get  to  Debreczin  as 
soon  as  possible.  So  there  was  notfiing  for  it  but 
to  go  straight  through  the  enemy's  lines  till  we 
reached  the  banks  of  the  Theiss,  when  we  could  be 
once  more  in  a  friendly  world." 


208  EVES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"But  where  did  you  conceal  the  despatches?"  I 
asked. 

"  I  stuck  them  inside  the  belly  of  my  fiddle.  Who 
would  break  the  fiddle  of  a  poor  gipsy  with  which 
he  earns  his  daily  bread  ?  The  money  we  earned 
in  one  town  was  sufficient  to  hire  a  sledge  to  con- 
vey us  to  the  next.  Gipsies  dwell  on  the  skirts  of 
every  town.  We  made  ourselves  at  home  there, 
and  they  never  asked  us  whence  we  came ;  but  if 
we  were  cross-examined  at  any  place,  then  we  lied 
to  such  a  degree  that  the  difficulty  was  to  find  any- 
body to  believe  us.  You  recollect  what  a  terrible 
winter  it  was  last  year  ?  " 

"  I  remember  it  very  well.  I  was  out  all  through 
it  with  my  wife,"  I  said. 

"  How  fine  it  would  have  been  had  we  run  across 
each  other  unexpectedly.  I  would  have  played  a 
nocturne  beneath  your  window.  Ha,  ha,  ha  ! — The 
bitterest  stage  of  the  journey  was  from  Kecskemet 
to  the  Theiss.  There  lay  Jellachich,^  with  all  his 
army,  occupying  the  towns  of  the  great  Hungarian 
plain  one  after  the  other.  Here  we  had  to  creep 
through  as  best  we  could.  As  for  me,  I  had  the 
good  fortune  to  play  every  evening  before  his 
Excellency  the  valiant  Ban.  He  was  very  pleased 
with  me.  With  my  little  band  I  managed  to  play 
the  famous  Croatian  march,  '  Szldva.  szldva,  mu,  mu, 
mu,  Jelacsicsu  nas  omu^  in  quite  a  superior  manner. 

*  The  Ban  of  Croatia^  who  sided  with  the  Austrians 
against  Hungary. — Te, 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  209 

I  also  knew  the  tune  of  the  fine  '  Kolo '  dance, 
and  absolutely  won  his  Excellency's  heart  with  the 
melodious  '  Fanny  Schneider  '  polka.  I  might  say 
that  I  was  really  quite  spoiled.  There  was  plenty 
of  money  and  wine,  and,  despite  my  black  face  and 
my  predominating  odour  of  garlic,  the  enthusiasm 
rose  so  high  that  all  the  officers  kissed  me  one  after 
the  other." 

Bessy  had  no  sooner  uttered  these  words  than  she 
buried  her  face  in  her  hands.  Again  I  came  to  her 
rescue. 

"  Those  kisses  don't  count ;  you  were  a  man 
then." 

"  It  was  quite  a  gipsy  paradise,  but  the  mischief 
was  we  did  not  know  how  to  escape  from  it.  The 
chivalrous  Ban  told  us  not  to  try  to  run  away,  for 
in  that  case  he  would  court-martial  and  shoot  the 
lot  of  us.  At  night,  when  our  duties  were  done, 
he  locked  us  up  in  a  little  out-house,  and  placed  an 
armed  sentry  before  the  door. 

"  One  night  we  escaped  up  the  chimney  and  over 
the  roof  of  the  neighbouring  house ;  that  is  to  say, 
three  of  us  managed  to  get  away,  I  and  the  clarinet- 
player  and  the  contra-bass.  The  violoncello,  how- 
ever, could  not  be  got  out  of  the  chimney,  and 
the  violoncellist  declared  that  he  would  rather  be 
stretched  on  the  rack  than  leave  his  instrument  in 
the  lurch.  So  there  we  left  him — to  pay  the  piper. 
Besides,  I  had  now  not  much  need  of  my  band ;  the 
Theiss  was  only  a  four  hours'  journey  off. 


210  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  I  had  heard  from  the  officers  that  in  the  willow 
woods  of  the  Theiss,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
'  Szikra '  inn,  some  Hungarian  guerillas  were  en- 
camping.    If  only  we  could  get  among  them ! 

"  It  was  a  good  thing  for  us  that  sentinel  duty 
was  very  laxly  ordered  in  the  camp  of  the  Ban  of 
Croatia.  At  the  end  of  the  town  was  a  putri,  or 
semi-subterranean  clay  hut  of  the  kind  in  which 
field-labourers  pass  the  night  during  the  summer. 
The  soldiers  who  had  been  sent  out  on  forepost 
duty  were  sitting  in  this  hnt,  and  their  muskets 
were  all  leaning  against  the  door.  One  of  the  gip- 
sies said :  '  Let  us  steal  the  muskets  ! '  The  other 
said :  '  Steal  your  grandfather ;  I  play  with  clarinets, 
not  with  muskets.'  I  urged  them  to  press  forward. 
We  were  near  to  the  sand-hills.  Before  us  lay  a 
savage,  rugged  plain,  where  one  sand-hill  followed 
hard  upon  another.  Some  of  these  hills  were  half 
hollowed  out  by  the  wind,  and  the  hollows  between 
them  sparsely  dotted  with  dwarf  fir-trees.  A 
ghostly  region.  The  sides  of  these  sand-hills  were 
white,  and  the  snow-fall  on  the  top  of  them  was 
still  whiter ;  and  every  tree-trunk  there  is  also  white 
with  its  pendant  branches  ^  bending  down  beneath 
the  hoar-frost.  "We  dodged  up  and  do%m  among 
these    sand-hills,   turning   aside  from    the  regular 

*  To-day  this  former  waste  of  shifting  sand-hills  has  heen 
converted  into  a  splendid  vineyard,  which  the  Hungai-ian 
Government  has  planted  with  vines  from  America  proof 
against  the  Phylloycera. — Jokai. 


W//AT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  211 

high  road  so  that  we  might  crouch  down  in  case 
we  were  pursued.  Along  the  whole  length  of  the 
plain  the  broom  of  the  wind  swept  our  footprints 
over  with  snow. 

"  '  If  only  we  don't  come  across  wolves  ! '  said  the 
contra-bass,  with  chattering  teeth. 

"  '  How  can  they  be  here  when  so  many  soldiers 
are  about  ?  '  said  I,  by  way  of  encouragement. 

"  '  Nay,  but  they  like  to  prowl  about  camps,  be- 
cause carrion  is  always  to  be  found  there.' 

"  Where  the  sand-hills  ended,  a  far-extending  flat 
began,  and  in  the  distance  was  a  direful-looking 
object,  resembling  a  ruin.  A  light  mist  covered  the 
whole  district,  in  which  mist  every  object  seemed  as 
large  again ;  the  full  moon  shone  wanly,  like  a  huge 
broad  halo  in  the  misty  heavens." 

Here  I  explained  to  Bessy  that  this  district  was 
the  famous  plain  of  Alpar,  where  the  ancient  Mag- 
yars fought  the  decisive  battle  against  Zalan, 
which  gave  them  possession  of  the  land  ;  the  ruin 
was  the  wall  of  the  desert  church  of  St.  Laurence. 

"Indeed!  and  I  may  add  that  this  desert  is 
memorable  to  me  also.  While  we  were  waddling 
along  as  fast  as  we  could,  with  our  short  mantles 
turned  against  the  wind,  the  contra-bass,  who  was 
going  on  leisurely  in  front,  exclaimed  : 

"  '  Devil  take  all  these  crows !  Why  don't  they 
all  go  to  sleep  in  the  tower  of  the  Calvinist 
church  ? ' 

"  I  inquired  why  the  crows  ought  to  go  to  sleep  on 


212  EY£S  LIKE  THE  SEA 

the  top  of  the  Calvinist  church  of  all  places  in  the 
world. 

"  '  Let  the  Calvinist  crow  stick  to  the  top  of  the 
Calvinist  church,  and  the  Papist  crow  to  the  top  of 
the  Papist  church,  as  is  meet  and  right,'  he  ex- 
plained. 

"  I  did  not  understand  this  sectarian  distinction 
among  crows,  but  the  gipsy  made  it  quite  plain  to  me. 

" '  One  sort  of  crow  is  ashen  grey,  another  sort 
black.  The  grey  sort  eats  no  flesh,  but  only  grain  ; 
that  is  the  Papist  crow.  The  black  sort  lives  on 
flesh,  whether  it  be  earthworms  or  fallen  horse  ; 
that  is  the  Calvinist  crow,  for  it  keeps  no  fast-days.' 

"  Then  he  called  my  attention  to  the  fact  that  on 
the  hill  there  straight  before  us,  a  whole  army  of 
crows  was  making  a  great  commotion.  At  one  mo- 
ment they  rose  high  into  the  air  with  loud  croakings, 
at  another  they  descended  upon  the  self-same  spot 
from  which  they  had  risen.  '  There  must  be  carrion,' 
he  said. 

"  "When  we  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  we  saw,  to 
our  great  consternation,  that  the  evil  foreboding 
of  the  gipsy  was  correct. 

"  On  the  highway  below,  by  the  side  of  the  ditch, 
lay  a  big  black  mass,  the  carcase  of  a  fallen  horse, 
and  fighting  over  what  remained  of  it  was  a  whole 
army  of  crows  and  ravens  and  five  large  wolves. 

"We  were  about  five  hundred  paces  from  the 
terrible  beasts. 

"  They  immediately  perceived  us,  and,  leaving  the 


IVHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  213 

carcase,  forthwith  began  scudding  towards  us, 
spurring  each  other  on  with  their  nasty  short  sharp 
yelps. 

"  '  Alas,  alas  !  It  is  all  up  with  us  now ! '  wailed 
the  contra-bass.     '  The  wolves  will  eat  us  up.' 

"  Even  in  that  hour  of  mortal  peril  the  clarinetist 
was  true  to  his  gipsy  humour.  '  Then  we  shall  have 
a  very  queer  shape  at  the  resurrection,'  said  he. 

"  I  bade  them  leave  off  wailing,  and  hasten  to 
clamber  up  into  a  willow-tree,  whither  the  monsters 
could  not  follow  us. 

"  It  was  an  old  pollard  willow,  the  branches  of 
which  were  cut  off  every  year,  so  that  only  the 
crown  of  it  remained,  surrounded  by  young  shoots. 
I,  who  had  never  learnt  the  art  of  tree-climbing, 
was  hoisted  up  by  the  gipsies  first  of  all,  and  then 
they  hastily  scrambled  up  after  me. 

"When  we  had  got  to  the  top  of  the  tree  we 
discovered  that  in  the  middle  of  it  was  a  large  hole — 
the  whole  inside  of  the  tree  was  hollow,  and  could 
contain  a  man. 

"  '  Leader,'  said  the  contra-bass,  *  your  loss  would 
be  most  serious,  creep  down  into  that  hole.'  I  took 
him  at  his  word,  and  glided  down  from  the  crown  of 
the  tree  into  the  deep  hollow  trunk.  First  of  all, 
however,  I  tied  my  long  cotton  neckerchief  to  a  little 
branch,  that  I  might  be  able  to  hoist  myself  up 
again  in  case  of  need,  for  the  hole  in  the  willow 
went  right  down  to  its  very  roots.  At  the  side  of 
the  tree,  too,  close  to  an  old  branch,  there  was  an 


214  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

orifice  as  large  as  one's  fist,  tlirough  whicli  one  could 
look  as  througli  an  attic  window. 

"  The  five  wolves  were  not  long  in  arriving. 

"  They  did  not  come  quite  near  at  first,  but  re- 
connoitred. Whenever  one  of  them  sneaked  up  a 
little  nearer,  the  clarinet-player  aimed  at  it  with 
his  instrument,  which  the  wolf  took  for  a  musket. 
Then  the  beast  would  back  a  little  and  scratch  up 
the  snow  with  his  hind  legs.  They  say  the  creature 
is  wont  to  do  this  when  he  sees  a  man  stand  on  the 
defensive ;  he  tries  to  blind  him  with  snow. 

"  When,  however,  the  wolves  at  last  discovered 
that  we  had  no  fire-arms,  they  sent  up  the  ugliest 
howls,  and  began  the  siege  of  the  willow.  They 
took  tremendous  leaps  in  the  air  to  reach  the  crown 
of  the  tree,  but  it  was  too  high  for  them. 

"  Then  it  occurred  to  the  gipsies  that  they  had 
often  heard  that  wolves  had  a  strong  penchant  for 
music,  and  they  began  giving  them  a  clarinet  and 
fiddle  concert. 

"  It  is  true  that  the  nasty  brutes  left  oflf  the  siege, 
sat  round  the  willow,  and  began  to  howl  in  concert 
with  the  music,  at  the  same  time  raising  their 
horrid  jaws  towards  the  moon,  and  lashing  their 
sides  with  their  ragged  brush-like  tails  ;  and  for  a 
short  time  I  was  quite  amused  at  the  scene.  But 
suddenly  our  double  danger  occurred  to  my  mind. 

"  '  Hey  !  gipsies.  Stop,  I  say  !  Is  the  devil  in 
you?  Your  music  will  bring  the  pickets  of  the 
Croats  upon  us,  and  they  wiU  flay  us  alive.' 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  215 

"  At  this  they  stopped  their  music. 

"This  appeared  to  make  the  wolves  still  more 
savage,  and  now  they  tried  a  fresh  stratagem. 

"  They  had  found  out  that  the  willow  leaned  a 
little  to  one  side,  and  rushing  at  it  from  a  little 
distance,  they  attempted  to  scale  the  sloping  side  of 
the  tree.  This  manoeuvre  was  likely  to  have  suc- 
ceeded. It  was  then  that  I  saw  what  a  powerful 
beast  the  wolf  really  is,  and  how  much  more  cun- 
ning than  any  species  of  dog.  Scrambling  up  at 
full  tilt,  they  managed  to  reach  the  crown  of  the 
willow,  but  there  the  brave  contra-bass  was  await- 
ing them,  and  gave  them  such  a  kick  on  the  snout 
with  his  iron-heeled  boots  that  the  attacking  beasts 
fell  head  over  heels  backwards. 

"  This  they  repeated  ten  or  twelve  times. 

"And  there  was  this  remarkable  circumstance 
about  it,  that  every  time  an  attacking  wolf  was 
prostrated  by  a  kick  from  the  gipsy,  the  others 
rushed  upon  him  as  he  fell,  and  worried  him  as  if  to 
punish  him  for  his  failure. 

"  Suddenly  they  left  off,  and  went  and  sat  down 
in  a  heap  just  in  front  of  my  window.  Their 
tongues  lolled  out  of  their  panting  mouths ;  their 
hot,  bestial  breath  rose  into  the  cold  air  before  me 
They  appeared  to  be  taking  counsel  together.  The 
biggest  of  them  seemed  to  be  their  leader.  If  one 
of  the  younger  ones  yelped  too  much,  he  would 
snap  at  his  neck  as  if  to  say  *  shut  up ! ' 

"At  last  they  appeared   to  have  hatched   their 


216  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

stratagem.  The  whole  lot  of  them  got  up  and 
shuffled  farther  off,  squinting  over  their  shoulders 
all  the  time  towards  the  willow-tree. 

"  My  gipsies  fancied  they  were  saved. 

"  '  You  shall  have  no  roast  gipsy  this  time !  ' 
bawled  the  clarinet-player  after  them  derisively 
from  his  sure  stronghold,  as  he  fancied  it. 

"  All  at  once  the  wolves  returned  and  stormed 
onwards  like  race-horses,  each  one  being  about  a 
wolf's  tail  ahead  of  the  other. 

"  The  first  of  them  rushed  straight  up  the  tree, 
and  while  the  contra-bass  was  kicking  him  in  the 
head,  the  second  wolf  leaped  across  the  first  wolfs 
back  and  seized  the  man's  leg. 

"  I  heard  a  despairing  shriek: 

"  '  Don't  let  me  go,  comrade  ! ' 

"  The  second  musician  tried  to  free  his  down- 
falling  friend  from  the  jaws  of  the  wild  beast,  and 
in  doing  so  lost  his  balance,  and  the  pair  of  them 
fell  down  from  the  tree, 

"  "What  happened  after  that  is  more  than  I  can 
tell  you.  It  is  enough  that  I  should  have  had  to 
live  through  that  mortal  struggle  of  the  two  luck- 
less victims  with  those  filthy  brutes.  How  many 
times  have  I  not  dreamt  it  all  over  again !  I  believe 
that  even  if  I  had  committed  all  the  seven  deadly 
sins,  I  should  have  more  than  expiated  them  all  in 
that  awful  hour.  I  hid  my  face  in  the  crumbling 
rottenness  of  the  hollow  tree,  that  I  might  hear  and 
see  nothing.     It  seemed  an  eternity  to  me  while 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  217 

the  bestial  howling  lasted  which  the  wolves  made 
as  they  shared  together  their  accursed  banquet  in 
my  very  presence. 

"I  dared  not  stir,  lest  they  might  find  out  that  I 
also  was  there.  Great  Heaven!  What  horrors  I 
had  to  endure ! 

"  Suddenly  a  sort  of  growling  and  snarling  began 
close  beside  me.  The  old  wolf  was  running  sniffing 
round  the  hollow  tree.  He  had  discovered  that 
there  was  still  booty  inside  it. 

"  He  began  to  scrape  the  earth  at  the  root  of  the 
tree.  He  evidently  meant  to  dig  a  hole  beneath  the 
tree  through  which  he  might  get  at  me.  Fortu- 
nately for  me,  it  was  not  sandy  soil,  but  stony,  hard- 
frozen  turf.     He  could  not  succeed  that  way. 

"  Then  he  caught  sight  of  the  hole  in  the  side 
of  the  tree.  At  one  time,  perhaps,  a  branch  had 
been  sawed  off  at  this  spot,  and  the  bark  had  rotted 
away.  The  wolf  began  to  enlarge  this  opening, 
tore  it  with  his  claws,  and  gnawed  and  worried  the 
rotten  wood  with  his  grinders.  He  had  soon  so  far 
enlarged  the  hole  as  to  be  able  to  stick  his  head  into 
it.  I  saw  the  green  glare  of  his  fiery  eyes ;  I  felt 
his  stinking  breath;  I  heard  the  gnashing  of  his 
teeth.  Then  despair  made  me  foolhardy.  I  drew  my 
crooked  knife  out  of  the  leg  of  my  boot,  with  the 
other  hand  I  seized  the  wolf  by  the  ear,  and  cut  it 
off  at  a  single  twirl. 

"  At  this  the  beast,  with  a  furious  howl,  drew 
back  his  head  from  the  hole,  and  began  to  howl  and 


218  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

run  away  like  a  whipped  cur.  The  others  followed 
after  him.  With  the  wolfs  ear  remaining  in  my 
hand  as  a  trophy,  I  sank  back  against  the  hollow 
trunk;  I  could  not  sink  right  down,  because  the 
hollow  space  was  too  narrow." 

I  felt  a  cold  shudder  run  all  over  me  at  this  ghastly 
narrative.    Bessy  herself  was  quite  exhausted. 

"Alas!  I  am  quite  worn  out.  I  tremble  at  the  very 
thought  of  it.  You  are  the  second  person  to  whom  I 
have  told  it.    But  how  pale  you  are  all  at  once  !  " 

I  suppose  I  liad  turned  very  pallid.  It  had  sud- 
denly flashed  through  my  brain  that  just  at  that 
very  time  my  wife  was  on  her  journey  through  an 
uninhabited  valley,  and  the  foresters  told  me  that 
wolves  strayed  about  there. 

Bessy  sighed  deeply,  raised  her  drooping  head, 
and  then  continued  her  story  : — 

"  Thus  I  had  freed  myself  from  the  wolves ;  but  I 
was  not  left  very  long  in  the  belief  that  shame  at 
my  depriving  their  leader  of  one  of  his  ears  was  the 
cause  of  it.  No !  Wolves  are  not  so  shamefaced 
as  all  that.  A  troop  of  horsemen  was  approaching 
from  behind  the  sand-hills.  There  were  six  men  on 
horseback  and  one  man  on  assback. 

"  One  terror  had  been  supplanted  by  another. 

"  Peering  through  the  hole  in  the  tree,  I  recog- 
nised the  uniforms  of  the  horsemen  by  the  light  of 
the  moon — they  were  Jellachich's  hussars.  And 
that  there  might  be  no  doubt  about  their  coming 
after  us,  I  recognised  as  they  came  near  the  face 


IV/fAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  219 

of  the  ass-rider.  It  was  my  bass-viol  player,  whom 
I  had  left  behind  me. 

"It  was  very  easy  to  see  what  had  happened. 
The  gipsy,  to  save  his  own  skin,  or,  perhaps,  at  the 
flogging-post  itself,  had  confessed  that  the  band  had 
come  from  Comom,  and  was  hired  by  me  to  go  as 
far  as  Debreczin.  Hence  it  was  not  very  difficult 
to  conclude  that  I  was  only  a  false  gipsy,  who  was 
carrying  despatches  from  the  beleagured  fortress  to 
the  Hungarian  Government. 

"  The  horsemen  had  brought  the  gipsy  with  them 
that  he  might  put  them  on  my  track.  Once  dis- 
covered, and  I  was  lost. 

"  On  the  snow  field,  lit  up  by  the  moonlight,  the 
scene  of  the  hideous  struggle  was  plain  to  the  new- 
comers. The  long  lines  of  blood,  fragments  of  torn 
garments,  a  foot  sticking  out  of  a  boot  in  the  snow 
— Ugh  !     May  I  never  see  such  a  sight  again ! 

"The  horsemen  galloped  quickly  up  over  the 
crackling  snow. 

"  The  violoncellist  had  to  dismount  from  his  ass. 

"  The  good  creature  howled  and  groaned  from  the 
bottom  of  his  throat,  bewailing  his  comrades  in  the 
gipsy  tongue,  and  cursing  the  monsters  who  had 
devoured  them. 

"  The  leader  of  the  patrol  was  a  sergeant.  He 
ordered  the  gipsy  about  in  Croatian,  and  the  gipsy 
has  the  peculiar  virtue  of  understanding  what  is 
said  to  him  in  a  language  of  which  he  is  perfectly 
ignorant.     He  replied  in  Hungarian. 


220  EYES  LIKE    THE  SEA 

"  *  Oh,  woe,  woe !  Those  accursed  wolves  have 
devoured  our  leader!  There's  his  boot!  They've 
only  left  his  boot.  I  recognise  it  well.  He  bought 
it  only  last  week  at  Czegled.  He  gave  six  florins 
for  it.     A  brand-new  boot !     And  this  is  his  foot.' 

"  It  was  plain  to  me  that  the  gipsy  had  guessed 
that  I  was  hidden  somewhere,  and  there  was  enough 
of  the  gipsy  in  him,  even  amidst  the  greatest  hor- 
rors, to  induce  him  to  make  fools  of  my  pursuers 
He  betrayed  me  first  of  all  because  he  couldn't  help 
it ;  he  saved  me  finally  because  he  could.  He  knew 
very  well  that  I  had  given  my  new  boots  to  the 
contra-bass.     My  boots  were  of  Russian  leather. 

"  '  Look  there ! '  cried  the  sergeant,  and  he  pointed 
with  his  finger.     '  Jeden,  dwat    Jak  szatri  f '  ^ 

"  The  gipsy  swore  by  all  that  was  holy  that  that 
was  the  third. 

"  '  Then  where's  the  first  ? ' 

" '  That's  the  first,  of  course ! ' 

"  There  was  no  dinning  into  his  head  the  arith- 
metical truism  that  if  you  take  two  from  three  one 
remains. 

"  The  sergeant  thereupon  ordered  one  of  the 
hussars  to  dismount  from  his  horse,  at  the  same  time 
pointing  at  the  willow-tree  with  his  sword,  whence 
I  concluded  that  he  was  about  to  examine  the  tree 
to  see  if  anybody  was  hidden  in  its  hollow  trunk. 

"  I  now  veritably  believed  that  the  time  had  come 

*  Croatian—"  One,  two !    Where's  the  third  ?  " 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  221 

for  me  to  turn  my  crooked  knife  against  my  own 
throat. 

"  All  at  once  a  crackle  of  musketry  resounded 
from  the  brushwood,  and  a  company  of  guerilla 
horse  dashed  out,  crying,  '  Forward,  Magyars  !'  The 
Jellachich  hussars  didn't  see  the  joke  of  this  at  all, 
hastily  turned  their  horses'  heads  and  galloped  off 
in  the  direction  of  the  town.  The  violoncellist  also 
mounted  his  long-eared  beast,  and  ambled  gently  off 
in  a  third  direction  midway  between  the  two  belli- 
gerents. He  had  no  desire  to  take  any  part  in  the 
struggle. 

"  The  guerillas,  who  were  numerous,  sent  a  few 
volleys  after  the  enemy,  but  from  such  a  distance 
that  the  bullets  couldn't  possibly  hit  the  fugitives, 
and  then  returned  in  triumph.  Then  I,  hearing 
them  speak  Hungarian,  quickly  hoisted  myself  up 
out  of  the  hole  into  the  top  of  the  tree ,  and  began 
so  far  as  my  hoarse  voice  would  allow  me,  to  give 
them  indications  of  my  existence. 

"  The  gallant  warriors  immediately  hastened  to 
th'e  willow-tree  and  helped  me  down  from  my  dan- 
gerous perch.  Their  leader,  a  handsome,  chivalrous- 
looking  young  man,  with  a  true  Hungarian  face, 
began  to  cross-question  me,  and  asked  me  whence  I 
came  and  whither  I  was  going.  Perceiving  that  I 
was  among  Hungarian  soldiers,  I  frankly  told  them 
that  I  had  como  from  Comorn,  and  had  been  sent  to 
Debreczin  with  despatches  for  the  Hungarian 
Government. 


222  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  The  guerilla  captain  was  a  suspicious  man. 

"  '  Oho  !  I  daresay  !  That's  easily  said,  but  diffi- 
cult to  believe.  What !  confide  such  a  mission  to  a 
gipsy  !     A  likely  tale  ! ' 

"  I  told  him  that  1  was  no  gipsy,  though  my  face 
was  painted  so,  but  that  I  lived  at  Comorn  and  be- 
longed to  the  place. 

"  '  Then,  if  you  are  an  inhabitant,  tell  me  if  you 
know  one  Maurus  Jokai  there— and  what  you  know 
of  him  ? ' 

"I  was  very  pleased  to  answer  such  a  question. 

*  I  know  him  very  well,'  I  said,  *  and  I  can  tell  you 
this  much  about  him,  that  he  went  to  the  High 
School  at  Kecskemet,  where  he  completed  his  legal 
studies — or  rather  learnt  how  to  paint  in  oils  from  a 
worthy  comrade  of  his  there.' 

"  Without  more  ado  he  clapped  his  hand  in  mine : 

*  That  worthy  comrade  of  his  was  no  other  than 
myself.' 

"  So  you  see,"  she  said,  turning  towards  me,  "  you 
were  of  assistance  to  me,  even  here." 

"Wasn't  that  old  schoolfellow  of  mine  called 
Jansci  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Yes,  that's  what  they  called  him.  With  him 
was  another  young  man,  with  quite  a  girlish  face, 
and  him  they  called  Jozsi ;  he  inquired  about  you 
most  particularly.  When  you  gave  your  artistic 
representations  at  Kecskemet,  he  used  to  play  the 
girl's  parts." 

"  Quite  true,"  I  said,  "  so  it  was." 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER  THAT  223 

"  So  you  see  I  must  have  been  there  or  I  should 
have  known  nothing  about  these  things.  The 
guerillas  told  me  all  about  it  as  they  took  me  with 
them.  They  were  very  attentive.  One  of  them 
gave  me  his  mantle,  another  let  me  mount  his  nag, 
and  so  they  took  me  to  the  '  Szikra '  inn,  where 
they  made  me  drink  punch  with  them,  regaled  me 
with  veal,  and  then  made  me  a  bed  on  the  straw 
with  their  mantles  that  I  might  sleep  off  my  ex- 
haustion. The  Jellachich  hussars  gave  us  no  trou- 
ble. They  could  not  come  back  till  morning,  when 
the  whole  regiment  would  doubtless  turn  out  to 
capture  the  guerillas,  who  would,  by  that  time,  be 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Theiss.  The  sledges  were 
all  ready  to  start,  and  would  scour  back  across  the 
frozen  river  at  the  first  signal  to  Czibakhaza,  where 
were  the  foreposts  of  the  Hungarian  army  under 
Damjanich. 

"  But  for  a  long  time  I  could  not  sleep.  Constantly 
before  my  eyes  flitted  the  horrible  death-struggle 
between  the  two  unhappy  men  and  the  wild  beasts, 
and  amidst  the  howling  and  shrieking  resounded 
the  gay  song  of  the  guerillas : 

'  The  Lilt's  ablaze,  the  rush-roof  crackles, 
Press  thy  browTi  maid  to  thy  breast ! ' 

In  my  dream  this  tune  was  mingled  with  the  howl- 
ing of  the  wolves,  and  at  one  moment  the  wolves 
were  singing,  'The  hut's  ablaze,'  and  at  another 
the  Croats  were  howling  at  the  gipsies  sitting  on 
the  branch.     Towards  morning  I  was  awakened  by 


224  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

two  cannon-sliots.  I  rejoiced  to  be  delivered  from 
my  spectres.  The  lieutenant  of  the  guerillas  hur- 
ried me  into  the  sledge,  as  a  regiment  of  hostile 
horse  was  approaching  from  Kecskemet. 

"  It  took  us  ten  minutes  to  dash  across  the  frozen 
Theiss.  On  the  opposite  bank  the  foreposts  of  the 
Honveds  were  encamping.  The  business  of  the 
guerillas  was  to  harass  the  enemy,  capture  their 
forage  waggons,  and  then  bring  word  of  their  move- 
ments to  the  main  army. 

"  They  took  me  straight  to  General  Damjanich.* 

"  I  was  now  no  longer  obliged  to  keep  my  des- 
patch hidden,  so  I  split  up  my  fiddle,  took  out  of  it 
the  documents  that  were  gummed  to  it,  and  their 
production  was  my  best  credentials. 

"  The  approving,  smiling  glance  of  the  powerful, 
heroic-looking  General  1  shall  never  forget.  At  the 
sight  of  him  I  quite  forgot  that  I  was  personating 
a  man,  and  would  have  liked  to  have  fallen  down 
before  him  and  kissed  his  hand.  Indeed,  I  was  so 
agitated  that  I  could  not  utter  a  word. 

"The  General  filled  a  little  glass  full  of  sziU 

*  Made  Commander-in-chief  of  the  3rd  Hungarian  Army- 
Corps  in  consequence  of  his  brilliant  exploits  at  Alibunar  and 
Lagerdorf ;  he  annihilated  Karger's  brigade  at  the  great 
battle  of  Szolnok,  and  was  elected  to  represent  that  town  in 
the  Hungarian  Diet.  After  fresh  exploits  he  was  made  War 
Minister,  and,  after  the  war,  was  court-marshalled  at  Arad 
by  the  Austrians  and  shot.  He  had  not  the  military  genius 
of  Gorgey  perhaps,  but  as  a  general  of  division  was  admir- 
able.—Tr. 


PV//Ar  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  225 

vorium  *  *  Drink,  my  son  ! '  said  he,  *  it  will  loosen 
your  throat.' 

"  My  throat  was  hoarse ;  I  had  a  voice  as  deep  as 
a  man's.  I  told  him  I  had  come  from  Comorn,  and 
I  was  sent  to  Lazar  Meszaros,  the  War  Minister. 

"  *  You  will  seek' old  Koficz  ^  in  vain  at  Debreczin, 
my  son,  he  commands  there  no  more.  So  you 
Comorn  folks  don't  know  what's  going  on  outside,  eh  ? 
Another  is  at  the  head  of  the  War  Department  now. 
I  will  give  you  a  letter  of  introduction  to  him.' 

"Then  he  sat  down  and  wrote  me  a  couple  of 
lines  to  a  General  with  a  German  name,  which  is 
expressed  in  Hungarian  by  the  word  Bacsi.^ 

"  He  said,  while  he  was  writing  this  letter,  that 
this  General  with  a  German  name  was  the  life  and 
soul  of  our  military  organization. 

"  Then,  by  the  General's  command,  I  received  a 
nice  clean  Honved  uniform  (I  had  to  retain  my 
brown  countenance  for  some  time  longer),  and  be- 
sides that  I  had  an  open  passport  enjoining  upon 
all  to  give  me  every  facility  to  reach  Debreczin  as 
quickly  as  possible. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  following  day  I  arrived 
at  Debreczin,  and  on  descending  from  my  sledge, 
proceeded  at  once  to  the  General's.     He  was  a  mild, 

^  A  spirit  made  from  plums. 

^  This  Hungarian  War  Minister  had  said  in  one  of  his  re- 
ports that  the  motions  of  the  Opposition  in  the  Diet  would 
turn  to  nothing  but  Koficz  (i.e.,  water-gruel).  The  name 
stuck  to  him  ever  after.— Jokai. 

'  Cousin. — Vetter  was  the  General  in  question. 

Q 


226  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

soft-featured  gentleman,  witli  a  close-clipped  beard 
and  moustache.  He  didn't  even  wear  a  General's 
uniform.  Nobody  would  have  guessed  his  rank 
from  the  look  of  him.  After  reading  through  my 
letter  of  introduction,  he  looked  me  straight  and 
sharply  in  the  face. 

"  *  You  are  Captain  Tihamer  Rengetegi,  eh  ? ' 

"  If  I  had  only  been  intent  on  my  own  interest, 
I  might  have  told  him  quite  frankly  that  I  had  no 
right  either  to  the  name  or  the  uniform  of  a  soldier  ; 
but  how  could  I  betray  my  faithful  consort  who  was 
smuggled  away  in  the  hovel  at  Heteny  ? ' 

"  '  Yes,  General,  I  am.' 

"  '  Who  made  you  captain  ? ' 

"  '  The  War  Minister.' 

" '  For  deeds  of  valour  ?  ' 

"  *  During  the  siege  of  Vienna  I  twice  carried  des- 
patches through  the  besieging  camp  from  the  Hun- 
garian Government  to  General  Bem.'  " 

Here  I  intervened :  "  That  is  not  true ;  I  know 
very  well  through  whom  the  Hungarian  Govern- 
ment got  those  despatches." 

"Anyhow,  my  friend  boasted  of  it  as  his  own 
deed,"  said  Bessy;  after  which  she  resumed  her 
narration. 

"  *  Good  ! '  said  the  General ;  '  now  give  me  the 
despatch.* 

"  The  information  was  written  in  a  secret  cipher. 

" '  I  must  decipher  this  first.  There  will  be  a 
meeting  to-night   of   the  Committee  of   National 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER  THAT  227 

Defence.  Early  to-morrow  morning  you  will  appear 
before  me.  Now  go  to  the  "  White  Horse."  Speak 
to  nobody.    Keep  your  room ! ' 

"  Nevertheless,  an  hour  afterwards  he  sent  for  me. 

"He  led  me  into  his  inner  room,  for  he  allowed 
himself  the  luxury  of  a  double-roomed  apartment 
at  Debreczin.  Two  other  ministers,  Paul  Nyary 
and  Joseph  Patay,  were  not  so  fortunate.  They 
had  to  be  content  with  a  double  room  between  them. 

"  The  General  was  now  very  gentle  with  me. 
He  made  me  sit  down  at  table,  and  poured  me  out 
some  tea.  He  offered  me  a  cigar  too,  and  although 
I  ought  not  to  have  done  so,  I  lighted  it.  It  nipped 
my  tongue  a  good  deal,  but  I  had  to  show  them 
that  I  was  a  man. 

"  Then  he  made  me  tell  them  how  I  had  got 
out  of  the  fortress,  and  how  I  had  forced  my  way 
through  the  hostile  camp.  My  relation  made  a 
great  impression.  When  I  was  dismissed,  they 
pressed  my  hand  and  assured  me  that  my  good  and 
boldly  executed  service  should  be  rewarded.  They 
further  commanded  me  to  come  to  them  early  the 
next  day. 

"  I  appeared  next  day  at  his  headquarters  in  full 
parade,  and  they  a^lmitted  me  before  any  one  else. 

"Again  they  made  me  sit  down  in  the  inner 
apartment,  and  drew  the  bolt  before  the  door  of 
the  outer  room. 

"  Stretched  out  on  the  table  was  a  large  military 
map  which  embraced  Upper  Hungary  and  GaUcia. 


228  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

'You  tave  brought  very  important  information 
with  you  from  Comorn,'  said  he,  in  a  low  voice. 
'Considering  the  time  when  you  set  out,  you  have 
arrived  here  with  astonishing  rapidity.  You  must 
now  take  the  reply  back,  which  will  contain  the 
directions  of  the  Council  of  War  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  new  Commandant,  who  will  be  gazetted 
to-night.  Can  you  make  your  way  back  to  the 
fortress  with  this  despatch  ? ' 

"Til  try.' 

" '  You  must  get  back  without  fail.  What's  your 
plan?' 

"  *  To  go  back  by  the  same  road  in  the  same 
manner  and  the  same  disguise  is  impossible.  The 
wolves  tore  two  of  my  comrades  to  pieces,  the 
Croats  captured  the  third,  and  as  he  may  have  con- 
fessed everything,  they  would  recognise  me  at 
once  if  I  appeared  before  their  eyes  as  I  am  now. 
Besides,  there  is  no  conceivable  reason  why  gipsies 
should  wish  to  leave  the  open  plain  in  order  to 
get  into  a  bombarded  town.  This  despatch  can 
only  be  conveyed  to  Comom  by  a  woman  who  is 
obliged  to  go  there  on  some  unimpeachable  business, 
and  is  provided  with  an  Austrian  safe-conduct.' 

"The  General  clapped  his  hands  together  in 
amazement. 

"'And  do  you  know  of  any  woman  who  would 
undertake  such  a  thing  ? ' 

"  '  Certainly  I  do.' 

" '  Where  ?    What's  her  name  ? ' 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  229 

"'That's  my  secret,  General.  The  difficulty  of 
getting  into  the  fortress  is  also  very  much  increased 
by  the  fact  that  the  appointment  of  Richard  Guyon 
as  the  new  Commandant  has  already  become  gener- 
ally known.' 

"  The  General  leaped  furiously  from  his  seat. 

"  '  Who,  then,  has  made  this  public  ? ' 

"  '  It  is  here  in  the  official  gazette,'  I  replied, 
drawing  out  of  my  pocket  that  morning's  issue  of 
the  Kdzlony. 

"  The  General  tugged  his  short  moustache  still 
shorter. 

"  '  Well,  well !  I  see  that  we  Magyars  have  yet 
to  learn  the  art  of  keeping  a  secret.  The  enemy 
knows  it  now,  but  the  Comorn  folks  do  not  know  it.' 

"  '  I  have  already  hit  upon  a  good  idea  of  en- 
abling the  mandate  of  the  Council  of  War  to  reach 
their  hands.' 

"  *  By  a  carrier-pigeon  or  a  balloon,  I  suppose  ? ' 

"  *  A  foreign  passport  is  necessary  for  my  plan.' 

"  *  That  you  shall  have — an  English  passport  m^c? 
by  the  Embassy.     In  whose  name  ? ' 

"  *  In  the  lady's.' 

"  '  Then  you  must  give  us  the  lady's  name.' 

"  Then  I  gave  him  my  real  name  as  the  lawful 
wife  of  Muki  Bagotay. 

" '  And  you  ?     Will  you  get  into  the  fortress  ?  ' 

"  '  Possibly,  as  that  lady's  coachman — possibly  not 
at  aU  ;  but  the  despatch  will  get  in,  anyhow.' 

"  '  And  how  will  this  lady  of  yours  manage  to 


230  EYES  UKE  THE  SEA 

hide  the  despatch  ?  I  can  tell  you  beforehand,  that 
even  if  your  lady  were  provided  with  a  safe-conduct 
from  the  Princess  Windischgratz  ^  herself,  and  so 
got  right  through  the  hostile  camp  into  the  invested 
fortress,  the  Austrians  would  indeed  welcome  her 
most  courteously  ;  but  they  would  at  the  same  time 
say  to  her :  "  Would  your  little  ladyship  be  so  good 
as  to  step  into  that  side-chamber ;  there  you  will 
find  a  complete  set  of  lady's  clothes,  would  you  be 
so  kind  as  to  put  them  on — if  they  are  a  little  more 
abundant  than  your  own,  that  doesn't  matter  ?  The 
toilet  you  have  brought  with  you  may  remain  here, . 
down  even  to  the  shoes  and  stockings ;  whenever 
you  like  to  come  back  again,  you  can  re-exchange 
your  clothes."  For  they  know  that  it  is  possible  to 
write  on  chemises  with  invisible  ink  and  reproduce 
the  writing  by  means  of  chemical  re-agents.  It  is 
also  possible  for  the  heels  of  your  boots  to  have 
secret  openings,  in  which  a  letter  written  on  straw- 
paper  might  be  inserted.  They  might  also  retain 
the  comb  with  which  you  fasten  up  your  hair,  for  a 
valuable  message  might  be  written  thereupon  in 
microscopic  letters.' 

" '  All  this  they  may  do  if  they  like,  and  yet  this 
lady  of  mine  will  convey  the  despatch  into  the 
fortress.' 

"  *  I  should  like  to  know  her  secret.' 

"  *  'Tis  a  very  simple  one.  She  will  learn  the 
whole  despatch  by  heart  from  beginning  to  end.' 

'  The  wife  of  th©  Austrian  Commander-in-chief.— Tb. 


IVJ/AT  HAPPENED  AFTER  THAT  231 

"  The  General  began  to  laugh. 

"'Ohoho!  My  dear  friend,  you  don't  suppose 
that  we  would  entrust  our  couriers  with  a  despatch 
in  good  Hungarian  for  the  enemy  to  snap  it  up  on 
the  way,  and  thus  learn  all  about  our  military  opera- 
tions. It  may  also  be  deliberately  betrayed.  In 
the  times  in  which  we  now  live  men  are  quick 
enough  to  discover  excuses  for  changing  their  saddles. 
This  despatch  contains  all  our  secrets :  where  we 
are  strong,  where  we  are  weak,  where  we  want  to 
assume  the  offensive,  where  we  are  obliged  to  stand 
on  the  defensive.  Such  a  despatch  would  be  worth 
200,000  florins  to  the  enemy  at  the  very  least.' 

"  *  I  can  assure  you.  General,  that  neither  I  nor 
this  lady  will  betray  it.' 

"  'You  couldn't  if  you  would,  for  the  whole  des- 
patch is  in  cipher.  Take  it,  and  look  at  it.  Do 
you  understand  a  word  of  it  ?  Can  any  one  possibly 
learn  it  by  heart  ? ' 

"  The  writing  which  he  placed  in  my  hand  was 
composed  of  a  jumble  of  letters  grouped  into  words 
— characters  whose  contents  could  scarcely  be  called 
language  at  aU.  I  nevertheless  assured  the  General 
that  this  lady  of  mine  would  learn  the  despatch  off 
by  heart  all  the  same. 

"  *  'Tis  impossible.' 

" '  Nothing  is  impossible.  Once,  when  we  were 
actors    .     .    .' 

"  *  Then  you  were  actors  ?  And  this  lady  was 
an  actress  too,  eh  ?  * 


232  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  '  Yes.  Once  our  whole  company  went  to  Eszei, 
and  there  we  acted  a  whole  piece  in  the  Croatian 
tongue  without  understanding  a  word  of  its  mean- 
ing. A  man  is  like  a  starling.  If  he  repeats  a 
thing  a  hundred  times  it  remains  in  his  head 
although  he  does  not  understand  it.' 

"  '  Look  here,  then  !  Read  but  two  lines  of  this 
despatch  a  hundred  times  over,  half  an  hour  will 
do,  and  see  if  it  remains  in  your  head,' 

"  I  consented.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  had  not  yet 
elapsed  when  I  said  that  I  was  ready.  I  gave  the 
General  the  despatch  back  again,  and  asked  for  ink 
and  paper.  And  then  slowly,  meditatively,  I  wrote 
down  the  contents  of  those  two  lines  letter  by 
letter. 

"  *  You've  got  a  marvellous  headpiece,'  said  the 
General,  in  amazement.  *  And  has  that  lady  of 
yours  just  such  a  marvellously  retentive  capacity  as 
you  have  ? ' 

"  *  Just  the  same.' 

"  *  Then  I  consider  the  stratagem  as  feasible.'  " 

Here  I  could  not  help  leaping  to  my  feet. 
"What !  "  cried  I,  "  you  actually  undertook  to  learn 
by  heart  a  whole  despatch  written  in  cipher  ?  " 

"  No,  my  sweet  friend  !  I  won't  deceive  you  as  I 
deceived  that  other  man.  The  whole  thing  was  a 
delusion.  The  cryptograms  which  reached  the 
Commandant  of  the  fortress  were  entrusted  to  Ren- 
getegi,  that  he  might  unpod  them  with  a  secret 
key.    He  communicated  this  key  to  me.    One  had 


IVHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  233 

only  to  know  a  single  word  whose  consecutive  letters 
repeat  all  the  characters  of  the  alphabet  in  different 
series.  The  whole  thing  only  required  a  little  cal- 
culation; there  was  no  need  to  rack  one's  brains 
about  it.  With  the  assistance  of  the  secret  key  I 
first  of  all  deciphered  the  cipher,  and  then  I  re- 
transferred  it  into  its  original  rigmarole." 

"But  are  you  aware,"  I  interrupted,  "that  if  the 
General  had  found  you  out,  he  would  have  had  you 
shot  on  the  spot  ?  " 

"I  suspected  as  much.  But  he  suspected  nothing. 
He  was  really  a  good,  worthy  man.  He  said  that 
things  being  as  they  were,  he  could  safely  confide 
the  despatch  to  my  hands. 

"  After  that  he  pointed  out  to  me  on  the  military 
map  the  route  I  ought  to  take  through  Galicia,  by 
which  I  should  possibly  avoid  falling  in  with  the 
enemy's  squadrons.  My  passport  in  the  name  of 
Madame  Janos  Bagotay  he  filled  up  with  his  own 
hand.  I  begged  him  to  leave  a  blank  space  for  the 
personal  description  of  my  travelling  companion. 

"  When  this  was  ready  he  gave  me  a  portfolio 
full  of  Austrian  bank-notes,  besides  a  hundred  louis 
d'ors  and  a  handful  of  silver  money. 

"  Then  he  pressed  my  hand,  and  said  :  *  The  last 
line  of  this  despatch  announces  the  promotion  of 
Captain  Rengetegi  to  the  rank  of  major.'  " 

At  this  both  Bessy  and  I  laughed  heartily,  and 
then  she  merrily  resumed  her  story  as  follows : — 

"  My  return  journey  was  in  a  much  more  lordly 


234  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

fashion.  Everywhere  relays  were  waiting  for  me. 
In  a  cjouple  of  days  I  reached  Vienna.  While  still 
in  Comorn,  I  had  learnt  that  my  mother  had  gone 
there  for  refuge,  and  still  kept  up  her  intimacy 
with  a  certain  high  official  in  the  Imperial  army. 
He  was  in  the  service  of  the  War  Minister  there.  It 
was  not  difficult  to  find  him.  I  will  leave  you  to 
picture  to  yourself  the  scene  of  our  meeting.  My 
mother  loves  acting,  but  she  is  a  bad  player,  she 
never  knows  her  part.  She  would  have  liked  to 
have  cried  and  fainted  when  I  came  rushing  in,  but 
she  got  no  further  than  sobbing.  I  was  all  the  better 
able  to  play  my  part.  I  hastened  to  excuse  her  for 
her  behaviour  at  our  last  meeting.  I  took  all  the 
blame  on  myself.  I  ought  to  have  remembered,  I 
said,  that  it  was  not  the  proper  thing  to  cling  on  to 
my  mother's  carriage  when  the  infuriated  populace 
was  seeking  her  life.  Then  I  went  on  to  the  motive 
of  my  coming  there.  The  Hungarian  Governmental 
Commission  at  Comorn  had  ordered  that  every 
Austrian  bank-note  which  could  be  laid  hands  upon 
was  to  be  burnt  in  the  middle  of  the  market-place. 
My  mother  had  40,000  florins  in  bank-notes,  which 
the  Orphanage  Fund  had  retained  from  my  patri- 
mony. This  amount  had  been  lent  out  to  various 
persons  at  interest.  These  persons,  as  soon  as  they 
heard  of  the  order  of  the  Governmental  Commission, 
had  hastened  to  deposit  their  German  bank-notes — 
not  in  the  fortress,  but  in  the  town  bank,  that  they 
might  at  least  get  back  their  securities  ;  and  thus  it 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  235 

was  (mr  money  that  would  be  burnt.  That  was  why 
I  had  come  at  such  a  break- neck  pace,  I  said.  If  my 
mother  would  give  me  a  power  of  attorney  for  the 
purpose,  I  would  immediately  return,  and  as  I  had 
great  influence  with  the  Commandant,  I  would  so 
manage  that  our  money  instead  of  being  burnt 
should  be  handed  over  to  me.  After  that  I  would 
settle  with  my  mother.  She  also  had  money  locked 
up  there  which  I  would  get  handed  over  to  me. 

"  This  proposition  made  an  impression. 

"  I  had  already  informed  my  mother  by  letter 
of  all  this  when  communications  were  freer  than 
now,  but  she,  as  all  nervous  people  do  with  their 
letters,  the  moment  she  recognised  my  handwriting 
in  the  address,  put  it  away  without  opening  it.  She 
fancied  it  was  full  of  maudlin  penitence.  Now,  how- 
ever, when  I  called  her  attention  to  this  letter,  she 
took  it  out  and  opened  it,  and  almost  fainted  with 
terror  when  she  saw  the  annexed  official  communi- 
cation of  the  Governmental  Commission,  and  learnt 
therefrom  that  the  term  fixed  for  the  bonfire  of  the 
Austrian  bank-notes  would  be  reached  in  three  days. 

"  Then  there  was  such  a  scampering  to  her  good 
friend  the  high  official,  and  to  all  sorts  of  high 
commanding  officers,  in  order  to  procure  for  me  a 
safe-conduct ;  then  she  got  me  a  power  of  attorney 
neatly  written  out,  by  means  of  which  I  could  re- 
claim her  money,  and  then  she  said  :  '  Now,  don't 
wait  a  moment,  my  darling  girl,  but  jump  into  a 
fiacre  and  gallop  off  to  Comom.' 


236  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  I  found  my  journey  back  much  freer  from  ob- 
stacles than  my  coming  away.  The  self-same  major 
of  cuirassiers  who  would  have  had  me  flogged  as 
a  gipsy  leader  was  now  full  of  courtesy  towards 
me.  After  reading  my  letter  of  introduction,  in 
which  the  object  of  my  journey  was  mentioned, 
he  could  not  have  the  slightest  doubt  that  I  was 
about  purely  private  business  which  was  very 
pressing.  He  did  not  even  have  me  searched.  I 
could  have  smuggled  into  the  fortress  anything  I 
liked. 

"  When  I  had  passed  through  the  besieging  lines, 
I  turned  off  from  the  highway  in  the  direction  of 
Heteny,  that  I  might  seek  out  my  captive. 

"  After  the  first  delights  of  meeting  each  other 
again  were  over,  I  told  him  the  whole  story  which 
I  have  just  been  telling  you.  I  must  say  that  I 
had  a  much  more  appreciative  audience  than  you 
are.  At  the  sensational  scenes,  he  flung  himself 
on  the  ground  .  .  .  and  with  folded,  uplifted 
hands  implored  the  wolves  not  to  devour  me.  He 
swore  that  if  he  caught  the  Ban  of  Croatia  he  would 
dance  the  life  out  of  him  for  making  me  fiddle 
so  unmercifully.  When  I  dictated  to  him  the  de- 
spatch I  had  learnt  by  heart,  by  means  of  the  secret 
key,  the  last  lines  of  which  contained  his  promotion 
to  the  rank  of  major,  he  exclaimed,  with  an  irre- 
sistible burst  of  grateful  emotion  :  *  My  Queen  !  lay 
Zenobia ! '  I  had  made  him  a  major  ;  he  made  me 
a  queen.     We  were  quits. 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  237 

" '  And  now  let  us  hasten  to  the  fortress,'  I  said, 
'  for  I  have  urgent  business  there.  I  want  to  save 
my  property.  Our  house  has  been  burnt  already ; 
if  our  money  is  burnt  too,  we  shall  be  beggars.' 
This  made  him  hasten. 

"  '  I  must,  however,'  said  he,  *  devise  something 
to  round  off  my  expedition,  something  of  the  quality 
of  a  heroic  deed.' 

"And  by  the  time  we  reached  the  fortress  he 
had  devised  something, 

"  The  return  of  the  courier  with  the  despatch  of 
the  Hungarian  Commander-in-chief  created  an 
extraordinary  sensation  in  the  fortress  and  spread 
even  to  the  town.  The  Commandant  immediately 
proclaimed  that  Captain  Tihamer  Rengetegi  had 
been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major  by  the  Hun- 
garian War  Minister  for  extraordinary  services, 

"  A  banquet  in  honour  of  the  •  returning  hero 
followed.  All  the  officers  were  present.  The  ladies 
also  took  part  in  it.  I  was  there  too.  Never  had 
I  seen  Balvanyossi  (I  beg  his  pardon,  Rengetegi) 
play  his  part  in  so  masterly  a  manner  as  on  that 
evening.  He  was  the  gipsy  leader  who,  with  three 
others,  fiddled  his  way  right  through  every  hostile 
camp.  And  what  amusing  adventures  befell  him 
on  the  road !  I  believe  he  laid  under  contribution 
every  book  of  gipsy  anecdote  that  was  ever  pub- 
lished. And  when  he  came  to  that  ghastly  scene 
with  the  wolves — that  was  indeed  a  drastic  de- 
scription.    The  reality  was  nothing  like  so  horrible 


238  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

as  his  account  of  it.  The  ladies  swooned,  the  men 
were  horror-stricken,  only  I  was  inclined  to  laugh. 
And  when  the  guerillas  turned  up,  how  valiant  my 
Rengetegi  became  all  at  once !  He  took  horse  and 
started  off  in  pursuit  of  the  cuirassiers.  (To  him 
they  were  cuirassiers  !)  It  would  have  been  beneath 
his  dignity  to  have  chased  mere  hussars.  .  .  . 
By  way  of  climax  came  the  splendid  description  of 
how  he  cut  his  way  through  the  besieging  host.  In 
the  dark  night,  amidst  a  blinding  blackness  of  mid- 
night snow-storm,  he  cut  his  way  on  horseback 
through  the  Austrian  f  oreposts,  leaping  over  trenches 
and  earth-works,  with  the  bullets  skimming  about 
his  ears  right  and  left.  His  horse  was  shot  dead 
beneath  him,  but  ever  equal  to  the  occasion,  he 
hastily  fastened  on  his  skates,  and  skated  with  the 
rapidity  of  lightning  over  the  frozen  Zsitva  and 
the  Csiliz,  and  two  other  rivers  the  names  of  which 
I  never  heard  of  before.  Thus  at  last  he  reached 
the  fortress.  Every  one  was  enchanted  with  the 
narration.  The  ladies  rose  en  masse  and  kissed  him, 
and  improvised  a  laurel-wreath  for  his  brows  out 
of  muscatel  leaves. 

"  To  save  appearances,  I  also  went  up  to  him  that 
I  might  condole  with  and  congratulate  him  upon  all 
the  exploits  and  sufferings  he  had  gone  through, 
when  all  at  once  my  friend  turned  quite  stiff  and 
rigid,  gave  me  a  cold  bow,  pursed  his  lips,  and 
turned  up  the  whites  of  his  eyes, 

"  *  Madame ! '  said  he,  *  I  have  a  word  or  two  to 


PVI/A  T  HAPPENED  AFTER   THA  T  239 

say  to  you  also.  Where  were  you,  may  I  ask,  while 
I  was  jeopardizing  my  life  a  hundred  times  every 
day  for  my  country?  Can  you  tell  me  how  you 
were  occupying  your  days  all  this  while  ? ' 

"  I  was  confounded.  Language  died  away  on  my 
lips.  The  blood  rushed  to  my  face.  I  felt  that 
every  one  was  now  looking  at  me.  Naturally  no- 
body in  Comom  had  seen  me  all  this  time. 

"  '  If  what  the  world  whispers  turns  out  to  be  true, 
and  you  have  in  the  meantime  been  to  Vienna — but 
no !  I  will  not  believe  it.' 

"  His  magnanimity  offended  me  even  more  than 
his  indictment. 

"  *  What  is  it  to  you  whence  I  come  or  whither  I 
go  ? '  I  replied,  turning  my  back  upon  him  and 
beginning  to  talk  to  the  young  officers,  like  one  who 
has  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of. 

"  Shortly  afterwards  I  quitted  the  banqueting, 
room.  I  hadn't  reached  the  end  of  the  long  pavilion 
corridor  in  the  fortress  when  Rengetegi  came  run- 
ning after  me. 

"  *  What  on  earth  possessed  you  to  calumniate  and 
accuse  me  before  the  whole  company,'  I  said  to  him, 
'  just  as  if  I  were  a  traitor,  or  I  don't  know  what  ?  ' 

"  '  Tsitt !  Zenobia,  my  Queen.  Let  us  understand 
each  other.  It  was  in  your  own  interest  that  I  had 
to  feign  jealousy  and  rage.  Let  us  go  into  my  room 
and  I'll  explain  everything.' 

"  When  we  were  alone  together  he  locked  the 
door  and  then  explained  things  nicely. 


240  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  *  It  concerns  your  money.' 

"'Alia!' 

" '  Amidst  all  tHs  laudation,  appreciation,  and 
ovation,  and  all  the  other  flummery,  I  did  not  lose 
sight  of  the  main  chance.  I  told  the  Governor 
privately  that  if  he  wished  to  reward  me  in  any 
way,  he  might  do  me  the  favour  not  to  give  to  the 
flames  the  property  deposited  in  the  bank  to  the 
credit  of  the  damsel  who  was  so  near  to  my  heart, 
but  allow  me  to  bring  it  back  to  her.  The  austere 
patriot  was  as  inexorable  as  Brutus.  "  Never !  "  said 
he.  "  We  will  bum  what  we  have  laid  hands  upon, 
even  though  it  were  the  property  of  my  own  father. 
We  can  make  no  exception.  What  would  those 
poor  devils  say  whose  paltry  ten  or  twenty  florins 
we  surrender  to  the  flames  of  the  auto-da-fi  if  we 
allowed  the  forty  or  fifty  thousand  florins  of  the 
rich  to  fly  away  ?  Burn  they  shall !  "  This  he  said 
with  a  very  wrathful  voice.  Then  he  added  in  a 
milder  tone:  "  However,  I'll  confide  the  burning  of 
them  to  you." ' 

"  Now  I  began  to  understand. 

"  '  A  quarrel  between  us  therefore  has  become  an 
absolute  necessity.  We  must  fly  into  a  rage  with 
each  other.  The  auto-da-fi  will  take  place  in  a 
couple  of  days.  The  bonfire  will  be  in  the  centre  of 
the  public  square.  I  shall  throw  the  bundles  of  bank- 
notes one  by  one  among  the  spluttering  faggots. 
You  must  be  close  by  the  booths  of  the  bread-sellers, 
and   break  out  into   curses.      You  remember   the 


tV//AT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  241 

cnrsing  scene  from  Deborah  ?  Very  well,  it  may  be 
useful.  After  the  auto-da- f4  there  must  be  a  lively 
scene  between  us.  We  must  cast  our  mutual  sou- 
venirs at  each  other's  feet.  I'll  throw  at  you  the 
embroidered  cushion  which  you  worked  for  my 
birthday,  and  inside  it  will  be  the  men  ij  belonging 
to  you  and  your  mamma  which  I  have  rescued. 
Then  be  off  as  quick  as  you  can  to  Vienna.' 

" '  But  how  about  the  packet  that  you  have  to 
bum?' 

"  '  Leave  that  to  me ;  a  few  copies  of  the  Comom 
News  will  give  every  bit  as  brisk  a  flame.' 

"  Everything  happened  according  to  his  instruc- 
tions. I  saved  our  property,  and  you  must  admit 
that  my  friend  and  I  displayed  considerable  pru- 
dence on  this  occasion.  We  did  nobody  any  wrong : 
I  only  recovered  what  was  my  own. 

"  Then  we  fell  out  together  publicly,  as  precon- 
certed. My  friend  Rongetegi  played  Othello  in  a 
masterly  manner.  Then  as  our  acquaintances  could 
not  succeed  in  reconciling  us,  we  solemnly  separated 
and  I  went  back  to  Vienna. 

"On  the  way  back  I  again  fell  in  with  the 
Austrian  major.  I  showed  him  the  money  I  brought 
with  me,  naturally  without  letting  him  know  how 
I  came  by  it.  He  became  so  friendly  as  even  to 
entrust  me  with  a  letter  to  an  old  acquaintance  of 
his  in  Vienna,  who  was  none  other  than  my  mother's 
colonel.     .     .     . 

"  You  may  imagine  the  friendly  reception  which 

B 


242  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

awaited  me  when  I  returned  to  Vienna  and  gave  my 
mother  her  money.  She  folded  me  in  her  arms, 
covered  me  with  kisses,  bedewed  me  with  tears,  and 
called  me  her  darling  child.  What  still  remained 
to  me  of  my  patrimony,  about  40,000  florins,  I 
placed  in  the  Vienna  savings-bank.  The  rest  of  my 
dower  was  in  the  hands  of  Muki  Bagotay,  with  the 
exception  of  what  we  spent  while  we  lived  together. 
This  also  I  contrived  to  get  back  again — but  how  ? 

"  In  the  spring,  when  the  fortune  of  the  war 
changed,  Comorn  was  relieved,  and  I  hastened  off 
home  again.  I  told  my  mother  that  I  was  urgently 
bent  upon  building  up  again  our  burnt  house — only 
the  roof  had  been  burnt  off,  the  walls  remained 
standing.  She  approved  of  my  resolution,  and  was 
very  proud  of  having  such  a  sensible  and  enterprising 
daughter.  I  immediately  set  about  rebuilding  our 
house,  taking  advantage  of  the  time  which  elapsed 
from  the  raising  of  the  first  to  the  beginning  of  the 
second  siege.  During  my  stay  at  Vienna  I  moved 
continually  in  military  circles,  and  I  saw  quite  plainly 
what  was  coming.  But  why  reopen  my  wounds  ? 
All  my  illusions  were  over.  I  had  learnt  to  know 
my  hero  at  close  quarters,  behind  the  scenes,  I  might 
say.  This  '  lord  of  creation '  used  to  whine  before 
his  tailor  for  a  respite  with  his  account  till  next  pay- 
day, and  immediately  afterwards  would  ascend  his 
triumphal  car  drawn  by  captive  kings  and  declaim 
to  the  populace  of  conquered  Constantinople.  But 
in  one  particular    thing  Major    Rengetegi    really 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  243 

extorted  my  admiration,  I  mean  by  his  strategical 
science." 

"Ah!"  cried  I. 

"  You  may  well  say  '  ah ! '  I  have  read  the  cam- 
paigns of  Napoleon  I.,  I  have  read  the  campaigns  of 
Charles  XII.,  but  in  none  of  them  could  I  discover  so 
many  ruses  of  war  as  my  hero  invented  in  order  to 
triumphantly  solve  the  problem — how  a  man  in  his 
capacity  of  superior  officer  may  constantly  be 
taking  part  in  the  most  ticklish  skirmishes  without 
allowing  his  person  to  get  into  the  way  of  any 
wandering  bullet.  He  always  knew  how  to  hit 
upon  some  mission  whereby  he  might  manage  to 
skedaddle  out  of  danger.  And  if  I  now  and  then 
fluttered  the  red  rag  of  self-esteem  before  his  eyes,  he 
would  reply :  '  I  have  duties  towards  art ;  if  they 
shoot  away  half  my  leg,  how  shall  I  be  able  to  act  on 
the  stage  again  ? '  Yet,  when  the  battle  was  over, 
who  so  great  a  hero  as  he !  Others  only  mowed 
down  the  enemy,  he  thrashed  them  afterwards  with 
a  flail.  '  Tis  a  dreadful  thing  when  a  woman  dis- 
covers that  her  hero  is  a  habitual  liar,  lying  with  the 
fiery  burning  conviction  that  no  man  will  dare  to 
doubt  him,  so  that  she  has  to  make  him  swear  to  the 
truth  of  every  word  he  utters. 

"  Meanwhile,  I  continued  my  house-building. 
Every  sort  of  building  material  was  very  dear, 
and  there  was  plenty  of  money  too.  "Whence  did 
all  this  money  come?  I'll  tell  you.  The  Russian 
hosts    had    already    invaded    the    kingdom.     The 


244  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

speculator-species  perceived  that  the  national  cause 
was  declining.  The  Hungarian  armies  were  every- 
where falling  back.  Then  Klapka,  by  a  brilliant 
victory,  raised  the  second  siege  of  Comorn  and  was 
within  an  ace  of  capturing  the  besieging  host.  The 
region  was  instantly  alive  with  people,  and  a  whole 
series  of  triumphs  followed  one  after  another.  And 
now  there  flocked  to  Comorn  from  every  part  of  the 
kingdom  quite  a  tribe  of  panic-stricken  speculators 
and  jobbers,  with  bags  full  of  Hungarian  bank-notes, 
and  bought  every  thing  that  was  for  sale,  at  whatever 
price  the  sellers  liked  to  ask.  My  Muki  also  took 
advantage  of  this  lucky  period  to  regulate  his 
finances.  He  sold  his  herds  at  four  times  their  real 
value,  and  paid  the  price,  in  Hungarian  bank-notes, 
into  the  deposit  bank  at  Comorn.  It  was  my 
dowry  paid  back,  he  said.  The  bank  hastened  to 
place  the  amount  in  my  hands ;  and  I  hastened  to 
satisfy  therewith  my  architects  and  builders,  who 
did  not  let  the  money  stick  to  their  hands. 

"  Doesn't  this  remind  you  of  the  round  game 
we  used  to  play  as  children,  when  we  lit  a  straw, 
and,  sitting  in  a  circle,  passed  it  round  from  hand 
to  hand ;  whoever  was  the  last  to  hold  it  till  the  fire 
burned  his  hands,  him  we  used  to  thump  unmerci- 
fully— that  was  the  forfeit  ?  Just  such  a  burning 
straw  was  the  dowry  paid  back  to  me  by  my  hus- 
band. The  roof  of  my  father's  house  was  the  straw 
end  which  remained  in  my  hands.  The  amount 
which  I  deposited  in  the  Vienna  bank  is  all  I  have 


WHAT  HAPPENED  AFTER   THAT  245 

left  in  the  world— except  Tihamer  Rengetegi.  But 
not  even  he  has  remained  mine,  for  he  has  changed 
into  Balvanyossi.  And  now  here  we  are  together. 
The  playing  of  a  common  part  unites  us.  From 
morn  to  eve  every  word  we  say  to  one  another  is  a 
lie.  It  is  not  even  true  that  any  one  is  pursuing 
Rengetegi,  for  at  the  capitulation  of  Comom  he 
received  his  safe-conduct  which  guarantees  his  life 
and  liberty.  That  is  not  what  distresses  him.  But 
he  wishes  to  deny  the  whole  part  he  played  during 
the  Revolution,  that  as  Balvanyossi,  the  theatre- 
director,  he  may  get  the  necessary  concession.  He 
is  continually  urging  me  to  go  to  Miskolcz  to  the 
Government  Commissioner  and  settle  the  business 
for  him." 

"  I  understand." 

"  No,  you  don't.  It  is  none  of  those  interventions 
which  we  see  in  romances  and  dramas,  when  a 
pretty  woman  goes  to  move  a  mighty  tyrant  with 
her  tears,  and  sacrifice  her  charms  to  him  as  the 
price  of  the  life  and  liberty  of  her  persecuted  hus- 
band. Oh  no !  my  hero  is  no  plagiarist !  His  ideas 
are  all  original.  He  wants  me  to  go  to  the  mighty 
gentleman  and  tell  him  that  the  Debreczin  expedi- 
tion, which  has  given  rise  to  the  whole  of  this  heroic 
poem,  is  not  his  '  crime,^  but  mine.  I  was  the  gipsy 
leader  who  played  before  the  Ban  Jellachich,  and 
then  escaped.  It  was  I  who  carried  the  despatch  to 
the  Hungarian  Government.  In  a  word:  I  am  to 
sacrifice  myself  on  his  account !  " 


246  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  Fie  !  fie  !     And  still  you  love  this  man  !  " 

"  "What  am  I  to  do  ?  I  have  nobody  but  him  in 
the  wide  world ;  and  besides,  he  is  such  a  droll, 
amusing  character.  All  day  long  we  are  either 
fighting  or  frolicking,  and  it  is  tins  variation  which 
makes  life  so  charming." 

But  for  all  that,  she  flung  herself  on  the  ground 
and  hid  her  face  in  the  green  moss.  She  was  in 
such  a  good  humour ! 

"  Sha'n't  we  give  our  friend  a  signed  to  come  out 
of  his  hole?" 

"  He  is  quite  comfortable — don't  disturb  him." 

"  I  wonder  you  don't  hit  upon  the  very  obvious 
idea  of  putting  an  end  to  this  pantomimic  game  of 
hide  and  seek.  You  have  a  foreign  passport.  You 
could  enter  your  friend  in  it  under  some  such  de- 
scription as  major-domo  or  travelUng  companion. 
You  could  take  him  with  you  to  Naples  or  to  Paris, 
and  you  could  live  without  care  on  the  interest  of 
the  fund  deposited  at  the  Vienna  bank." 

"  I  know  that." 

"Then  why  not  do  it?" 

"  Because  I  don't  choose." 

And  as  she  said  this  she  looked  strangely  at  me 
with  her  enigmatically  mysterious  eyes,  in  which 
heaven  and  hell  were  blended  together  like  star- 
light in  darkness ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   demon's   bait 

T  SAID  in  the  last  chapter  that  the  lady  was  look- 
-'-  ing  straight  into  my  eyes  with  the  glance  of 
Circe.  Then  she  shrugged  her  shoulders,  flung  her- 
self down  beside  the  fire-ashes,  and  began  to  blow 
the  cinders  so  as  to  entice  a  flame  from  the  smould- 
ering embers. 

"  It's  useless  to  give  advice  to  me,  for  I  always  do 
exactly  the  contrary.  Let  us  rather  have  a  chat  to- 
gether.    What  is  your  fate,  now  ?  " 

"  The  fate  of  the  grub  when  it  is  in  its  chrysalis." 

"  Then  it  was  not  without  cause  that  I  went  to 
you  that  evening  when  you  shut  your  door  in  my 
face?  And  yet  I  only  said  what  I  did  because  I 
feared  that  either  the  gibbet  or  suicide  awaited  you 
on  the  path  you  chose  to  take." 

Here  her  voice  trembled,  her  chin,  her  lips 
twitched  convulsively,  and  her  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

A  lady  in  tears  is  dangerous  ! 

I  did  not  hasten  to  dry  her  tears.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  replied  with  cool  cynicism : 

"  Every  career  has  its  own  peculiar  maleficium — 
drowning  awaits  the  sailor,  shooting  the  soldier; 
the  doctor  may  fall  a  victim  to  an  epidemic;  the 

247 


248  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

glass-maker  suffers  from  caries ;  choke-damp  kills 
the  miner ;  and  he  who  meddles  with  politics  runs 
a  chance  of  being  hanged  or  guillotined." 

"  No,  no !  They  shall  not  do  it ! "  she  cried 
hoarsely,  seizing  my  hand  in  both  her  own. 

"  I  do  not  want  them  to  do  it,"  I  said,  "  and  that  is 
why  I  am  hiding  myself  here  at  the  back  of  beyond." 

"  But  how  long  is  this  to  go  on  ?  What  future  do 
you  see  before  you  ?  " 

"  For  the  present  I  am  like  the  convalescent  beg- 
gar whose  promenading  does  not  go  beyond  tbe 
house-door.  I  thought  of  beginning  a  little  farming 
in  this  valley  and  forgetting  all  my  dreams  of  glory. 
I  shall  become  an  agriculturist." 

"  Very  nice  !     And  your  wife  ?  " 

"  She  will  join  me." 

"  And  you  seriously  think  so  ?  You  think  she'll 
come  and  settle  down  with  you  in  a  hut  with  a*clay 
floor  and  a  straw  roof,  like  the  one  you  are  living  in 
now." 

"  It's  a  palace  compared  with,  what  we  lived  in  in 
our  Debreczin  days.  When  my  wife  did  the  cook- 
ing— for  we  had  no  servant — we  loved  each  other 
better  than  ever.  In  a  little  house  loving  hearts 
are  nearer  to  each  other  than  in  a  large  palace." 

"It  was  possible  then,  no  doubt.  I  have  ex- 
perienced the  same  thing.  But  this  is  quite 
different.  When  a  man  has  such  brilliant  hopes, 
want  is  no  affliction.  It  will  be  over  soon,  he  thinks. 
But  to  enter  upon  misery  with  the  knowledge  that 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  249 

it  will  last  till  death,  is  beyond  the  power  of 
resignation.  And  particularly  with  a  woman ! 
Believe  me,  I  know  my  own  sex.  Your  wife,  who 
now  stands  at  the  summit  of  her  artistic  fame, 
cannot  quit  her  brilliant  career.  No  !  If  you  were 
an  angel  she  could  not." 

I  could  not  defend  my  point  of  view  against  her. 
Stern  reality  was  on  her  side  ;  on  my  side  were  only 
faith  and  imagination. 

"  I  believe  in  my  wife's  promise  to  deliver  me  out 
of  my  difficult  position." 

"  I  can't  imagine  how.  She  cannot  do  what  I 
can  do  for  Balvanyossi — in  other  words,  accuse 
herself  and  say :  '  It  was  not  he  who  proclaimed 
freedom  on  March  15th.  It  was  not  he  who  wrote 
those  heart-stirring  articles  to  the  nation.  It  was 
not  he  who  edited  those  newspapers ;  not  he  who 
went  to  battle  with  the  armies ;  not  he  who  inspired 
the  Honveds  at  the  siege  of  Buda :  but  I.'  Your 
wife  cannot  take  your  fault  on  her  shoulders." 

I  couldn't  help  laughing. 

"  I  would  not  let  her." 

"  But  let  us  suppose  that  a  great  artiste,  a  re- 
nowned beauty,  might  perhaps  manage  by  some 
means  or  other  to  procure  an  amnesty  for  her  hidden 
husband"  (and  as  she  said  this  she  discharged 
murderous,  envenomed  darts  at  me  from  the 
corners  of  her  eyes),  "  what  will  be  your  subse- 
quent lot  when  you  return  to  Pest  as  a  rebel 
amnestied   at  the  intercession  of   his   wife?    The 


250  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

earth  and  the  sky  which  you  used  to  adore  have 
vanished.  No  poet,  no  newspaper,  no  pubhsher : 
what  will  you  do  ?  Will  you  enter  a  lawyer's  office 
again  to  copy  deeds,  issue  summonses,  and  serve  writs 
at  so  much  a  day  ?  Or  will  you  translate  comedies 
(under  official  protection)  at  fifty  florins  each  for  the 
National  Theatre  ;  or  paint  fashionable  portraits  of 
butchers'  wives  at  five  florins  apiece  ?  Or,  perhaps, 
you'll  do  nothing  at  all,  but  live  simply  under  the 
wing  of  your  wife  as  '  the  actress's  husband,'  and  see 
a  woman  bending  beneath  the  load  of  sustaining  a 
household  —  accomplishing  the  most  exhausting 
work ;  coming  home  after  her  day's  acting  is  over, 
tired  to  death,  excited,  unstrung.  See  her,  poorly 
though  she  be,  hurry  from  one  provincial  town  to 
another,  acting  uncongenial  parts,  so  as  to  scrape 
together  a  little  money  wherewith  to  satisfy  the 
Jews  with  whom  she  has  to  haggle  for  the  material 
for  her  costumes.  And  the  husband  must  look  on  at 
all  this  with  his  arms  folded,  or,  if  he  does  anything 
at  all,  may  perhaps  paint  the  flowers  for  her 
costumes,  which  she  herself  will  then  sew  on  with 
her  own  hands." 

"  It  will  not  last  for  ever — other  times  will  come." 
"  Other  times !  You  think  other  times  will  come, 
eh  ?  Now,  that  is  what  I  fear  most  of  all.  I  know 
you  well.  You  are  not  the  sort  of  man  who  can 
content  himself  with  the  thought — what  is  past  is 
over!  You  will  never  forget  what  you  used  to 
be,  still  less  what  you  meant  to  be.     The  glory  of 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  251 

fame  is  not  forgotten  as  easily  as  a  pawned  jewel. 
You  will  again  fall  into  those  straits  from  whicli  you 
have  been  set  free." 

And  the  woman  saw  right  into  my  soul.  My  face 
is  so  maladroit  that  it  never  could  keep  a  secret. 
You  can  read  my  features  like  an  open  book.  When 
I  am  frightened,  it  is  vain  for  me  to  pretend  that  I 
am  plucky,  "When  I'm  in  a  rage,  it  is  useless  for 
me  to  affect  calmness — nobody  is  taken  in  by  it.  I 
cannot  even  haggle  over  a  bargain  properly,  people 
can  read  from  my  face  what  I  have  to  give.  This 
woman  could  see  where  my  soul  was  wandering  in 
secret,  far,  far  away,  in  a  gloriously  arisen  Hungary 
of  the  future.  And  she  regarded  this  talk  of  turning 
farmer  as  little  more  than  the  incoherent  delirium 
of  a  fevered  visionary. 

"Let  it  be  as  you  say,"  I  said "If 

I  live  I  will  build  a  tower  out  of  the  ruins  of  my 
country's  glory ;  if  I  die,  my  grave  will  become  an 
altar.  Vainly  does  this  coward  flesh  of  mine  tremble 
in  every  nerve.  I  am  neither  a  hero  nor  a  giant. 
The  report  of  a  gun  makes  me  tremble ;  I  grow 
pale  in  the  presence  of  death ;  grief  draws  tears 
from  me— but  I  will  not  depart  from  my  set  path. 
If  I  cannot  write  under  my  own  name,  I  will  write 
under  the  name  of  my  landlord's  dog.  I  will  be 
'Sajo.'^  We'll  bark  if  we  can't  speak,  but  we'll 
not  be  silent." 

*  My  works  '■'■  Forradalmi  ^s  csatakepek,^*  '^Bujdosd  nap- 
Idja  "  were  written  under  the  pseudonym  Sajd. — Jokai. 


252  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

The  lady,  in  terror,  seized  me  by  both  arms. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,  take  care !  A  step  back- 
wards, and  you'll  fall  over  the  rock." 

"But  I  don't  mean  to  take  a  step  backwards." 

"Listen  to  me  quietly.  Don't  fly  into  a  rage. 
Sit  down  beside  me.  You  need  have  no  great  fear 
of  me.  I  am  not  a  luring  demon.  I  have  not  a 
word  to  say  against  what  you've  said.  Do  whatever 
your  soul  bids  you.  I  ask  for  nothing  more.  Don't 
you  believe  that  I've  a  good  heart  also  ?  " 

"  I  believe  that  you've  a  little  too  much  heart." 

"Perhaps  all  that  my  heart  led  me  to  do  was 
sinful.  I  was  mad.  I  was  blind.  Passion  got  hold 
of  me;  but  the  feeling  I  had  for  you  would  not 
have  been  out  of  place  in  heaven  itself.  "When  I 
am  alone,  I  am  always  with  you ;  and  when  I  think 
of  anything  I  think  of  you.  I  wish  you  to  go  on- 
wards and  upwards  along  the  rugged  path  that  you 
have  entered  upon;  but  can  you  do  it  here,  with  a 
leaden  weight  on  your  feet,  a  padlock  on  your 
mouth,  and  a  strait  jacket  on  your  body?  " 

"  'Tis  because  it  is  heavy  that  I  must  needs  carry 
my  burden." 

"But  how  much  more  brilliant  would  be  the 
success  of  your  struggle  if  you  could  continue  it 
on  a  foreign  soil — in  free  France,  for  instance! 
Just  think!  If  you  were  now  to  appear  in  Paris, 
the  leaders  of  the  French  literature  would  receive 
you  with  open  arms.  The  French  public  would 
enrol  you  among  its  great  writers,  and  then  you 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  2B3 

might  write  of  the  glory,  the  suflferings,  and  the 
heroic  struggles  of  Hungary,  and  of  the  amiable 
qualities  of  its  people;  you  might  write  all  this 
with  perfect  freedom,  from  the  very  bottom  of  your 
heart,  and  millions  and  millions,  the  whole  round 
world,  would  read  your  writings,  and  not  merely  a 
handful  of  people,  as  here  at  home.  There  you 
would  be  a  rich  man,  here  you  are  only  a  day- 
labourer.  Here  you  might  sing  like  a  TyrtsBus, 
and  the  world  outside  would  hear  nothing  of  it; 
but  if  you  raised  your  voice  abroad  in  the  midst  of 
a  great  nation  and  a  cosmopolitan  capital,  your  voice 
would  be  like  the  horns  of  Joshua  before  the  walls 
of  Jericho." 

Ah!    how  luring  was  the  panorama 

To  become  a  great  French  writer!  To  be  raised 
aloft  on  the  shoulders  of  the  most  glorious  of  na- 
tions !  What  here  at  home  was  but  the  crack  of  a 
whip  in  my  hands,  would  there  be  a  thunderbolt ! 

"But  it  is  impossible,"  I  objected.  "How  could 
1  possibly  force  my  way  to  the  frontiers  of  France 
from  the  depths  of  Tordona,  through  my  own 
country,  through  Austria,  through  Germany,  with- 
out a  passport,  without  money,  in  a  semi-Asiatic 
garb?  Just  as  well  might  I  cast  myself  down 
from  the  mountain-top  in  the  belief  that  I  could 

fly." 

"Well,  come  now,  I  have  a  very  good  plan  to 
suggest  to  you.  I've  got  an  English  passport. 
Have  I  not  told  you  exactly  how  I  got  it  ?    None  be- 


254  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

sides  yourself  knows  that  I  have  it,  except,  of  course, 
the  officials  who  have  visid  it  on  the  way.  In  this 
passport  the  blank  for  my  travelling  companion  has 
not  yet  been  fiUed  up.  You  asked  me  just  now 
why  I  did  not  insert  the  name  and  description  of 
Balvanyossi.  Now,  I'll  tell  you.  Nobody  is  pursuing 
him.  I  always  intended  to  fill  up  that  blank  with 
your  name.  You  won't  have  to  sacrifice  much 
beyond  that  little  moustache  and  beard  of  yours, 
and  resigning  yourself  to  speak  nothing  abroad  but 
French  and  German.  I  appoint  you  my  secretary. 
I  myself  am  an  English  lady.  We  mustn't  go  vid 
Vienna.  But  the  way  is  clear  in  the  direction  of 
Breslau.  I  have  quite  enough  money  for  us  both. 
I  still  retain  the  hundred  ducats  which  I  received 
at  Debreczin.  "We  shall  do  sumptuously  with  this 
till  we  get  to  Paris.  My  capital  in  the  Vienna 
bank  I  can  leave  where  it  is,  or  I  may  have  it  sent 
after  me,  and  the  interest  from  it  will  suffice  for 
your  modest  needs  at  the  beginning  of  your  resi- 
dence at  Paris,  so  that  you  will  not  have  to  resort 
to  the  emigrants'  fund.  When  once  you  have  won 
a  position  for  yourself  in  Continental  literature  you 
will  need  no  further  assistance  from  anybody.  You 
will  be  able  to  refund  to  me  what  I  advanced  to 
you  as  a  loan.  Only  as  a  loan  remember,  not  as  a 
gift ;  still  less  do  I  expect  anything  in  exchange, 
not  even  a  warm  pressure  of  the  hand.  I  am  simply 
your  proselyte  whose  mission  it  is  to  make  straight 
the  way  of  the  prophet." 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  255 

It  was  a  seductive  picture,  and  still  more  seductive 
was  she  who  presented  it  to  me. 

To  be  free !  To  be  able  to  pronounce  my  name 
boldly  in  the  face  of  every  one  who  met  me !  Not 
to  tremble  at  the  pattering  of  every  footstep  at  my 
door !  To  fight  for  great  ideas  in  the  company  of 
great  and  noble  minds  ! 

And  how  her  eyes  sparkled  as  she  said  these  words, 
like  the  parhelia  in  the  glowing  girdle  of  a  solar 
halo!  And  her  face  was  as  open  as  a  child's.  I 
could  have  sworn  that  she  was  an  artless  virgin 
opening  her  heart  for  the  first  time  to  a  true  senti- 
ment.    Her  hands  were  folded  as  if  in  prayer. 

Had  I  wavered  but  a  hair's-breadth,  I  must  have 
plunged  down  into  the  abyss. 

Ah !  what  a  different  man  I  should  have  become. 
Had  I  fled  with  her,  I  should  now  be  the  grand 
master  of  the  Realists,  for  there  is  as  much  erotic 
flame,  satiric  vein,  and  luxurious  fancy  in  me  as  in 
them ;  but  I  have  not  used  these  qualities,  because 
I  write  for  a  Hungarian  public.  Had  I  flown  with 
her,  millions  would  have  read  my  works,  and  fathers 
and  mothers  would  have  cursed  me  as  the  corrupter 
of  their  children.  And  I  should  have  laughed  at 
them,  and  tapped  the  fat  paunch,  which  as  an 
ideaUstic  writer  I  have  never  been  able  to  acquire. 

And  whither  would  this  reinless,  bridleless  passion 
have  hurried  me  had  I  been  swayed  by  such  a 
fascinating  Calypso,  whose  every  movement  was  a 
charm,  whose  every  word   was  a   snare,  who   was 


256  £yES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

herself  the  personified  joy  of  a  Mohammedan  para- 
dise? For,  remember,  I  was  then  only  four-and- 
twenty ! 

Fortunately,  a  sober  thought  still  remained  in  my 
head. 

"I  mean  to  remain  in  my  own  land,"  I  said 
abruptly. 

"Why?" 

"  I  will  not  forsake  those  who  arose  at  my  word. 
If  they  lie  on  the  earth,  I  also  will  lie  down  beside 
them.  I  will  take  my  share  of  the  suffering  of 
which  I  was  the  cause." 

"  You  won't  remain  out  in  the  cold  for  ever,  of 
course.  Haven't  you,  then,  the  hope  that  those  who 
have  sought  refuge  abroad  will  one  day  return  in 
triumph  ?  Then  you  also  will  return  home  at  the 
head  of  the  reprieved." 

Even  this  weapon  she  managed  to  turn  against 
me !  Oh,  what  a  weak  coat  of  mail  it  was  that  de- 
fended me — only  a  single  word  ! 

"  I  have  given  my  word  that  I'll  not  depart  from 
hence,"  I  said  softly. 

"  To  whom  ?  " 

"  To  her  who  gave  me  her  word  that  she  would 
come  and  seek  me  here." 

"Your  wife?" 

"Yes." 

"  And  if  she  seeks  you,  what  then  ?  " 

"  She  will  bring  me  liberty." 

"How?    In  what  way?" 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  2bl 

« I  don't  know." 

"  You  don't  know,  and  yet  you  believe  ?  " 

"  I  believe  with  my  whole  heart." 

"  And  you  never  think  what  may  be  the  price  of 
such  freedom  ?  " 

"  I  spurn  such  a  thought  as  often  as  it  arises." 

"  You  believe  in  a  woman's  loyalty,  a  woman's 
virtue  ?  " 

"I  do." 

"  Then  you  are  a  very  happy  man !  ** 

During  this  conversation  I  continued  my  drawing, 
and  she  called  my  attention  to  several  objects  in  the 
landscape  which  had  escaped  me.  Shortly  after  that 
she  began  a  very  ordinary  conversation  about  the 
weather. 

"  Look !  the  prophecy  of  the  old  forester  is  well- 
nigh  fulfilled.  The  sky  is  quite  overcast.  The 
snowstorm  will  surprise  us  here." 

"  Then,  perhaps,  it  may  be  as  well  to  call  our 
friend  out  of  his  hiding-place  ?  " 

"  Oh,  that  will  be  very  easy  !  I  need  only  give 
him  one  signal.  He  himself  selected  it  from  the 
romance  *  Ivanhoe ' — the  note  of  the  hero's  horn — 
*  Wasa  hoa  ! '  At  this  signal  he  will  appear  imme- 
diately." 

"  Well,  I  can  scarcely  see  to  sketch  any  more,  it 
is  so  dark." 

"  Then  you  aro  determined  to  go  to  that  little 
village  down  there  ?  *" 

"Yes." 


258  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"No  news  from  the  world  will  ever  penetrate 
thither." 

"  That  will  be  all  the  better  for  me." 

"  You  have  heard  nothing  of  what  is  going  on 
outside  all  this  time,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Nothing  pleasant." 

"  It  is  a  dreadful  world.  How  would  the  women 
manage  to  live  if  they  couldn't  chatter  ?  " 

"  They  could  sew  their  children's  clothes." 

"  Perhaps  you  haven't  heard  that  Petofi's  widow 
has  married  again  ?  " 

Ah,  that  was  indeed  a  murderous  thrust !  A  cal- 
culated, well-aimed,  poisonous  dart  where  there  was 
a  weak  joint  in  my  coat  of  mail. 

"  What  do  you  say?"  cried  I,  in  a  perfect  passion. 

**  It  is  a  fact  known  to  everybody." 

'*  Petofi's  wife  5  Then  what  has  become  of 
Petpfi?" 

«  He  fell  at  the  battle  of  Segesvar." 

"  Who  saw  him  fall  ?  " 

"  A  Honved  officer  who  testified  to  the  fact.  This 
was  quite  enough  for  his  widow.  She  immediately 
went  to  the  altar  with  another  young  writer,  who 
was  not  perhaps  such  a  knightly  hero  as  your 
friend,  but  who  is  a  pleasant  young  man  in  a  good 
official  position,  moving  in  the  best  society,  and  who 
is  able  to  assure  his  wife  a  comfortable  existence." 

Every  one  of  this  woman's  words  went  right 
through  my  heart. 

Now,  indeed,  after  years  have  elapsed,  I  can  say 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  259 

that  poor  Julia  did  well  to  confide  her  fate  to  a  good 
and  worthy  man.  She  had  a  child,  and  had  duties 
towards  that  child.  But  at  that  moment  a  heavier 
blow  could  not  have  descended  upon  my  head.  The 
death  of  our  martyrs,  let  it  be  never  so  cruel,  was 
not  nearly  such  terrible  news  to  me  as  the  news 
that  the  martyrs  had  been  forgotten. 

That  any  woman  could  ever  forget  Petofi !  The 
woman  whom  the  poet  had  encompassed  with  the 
rays  of  his  soul  of  flame  !  That  the  poet  should  be 
able  to  make  himself  immortal  to  the  whole  world 
and  not  to  her  whom  he  had  worshipped  ! 

No  doubt  the  widow  was  right,  she  will  be  blessed 
in  the  next  world,  and  there  Petofi  himself  will 
justify  her — the  righteous  are  always  just ;  but  to 
me  this  news  seemed  to  open  the  very  gates  of  hell. 
If  the  grass  can  grow  so  quickly  over  my  over- 
thrown idol,  what  am  I,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  A 
frog  enclosed  in  a  tree,  whose  calling  it  is  to  live  for 
a  hundred  years — beneath  the  bark  ! 

"  I  won't  believe  it !  I  won't  believe  it !  I  won't 
believe  it ! " 

She  laughed  at  me.  "  Now  wriggle  away !  "  she 
seemed  to  say. 

From  the  crown  of  my  head  to  the  heel  of  my 
foot  I  was  full  of  bitterness.  If  such  a  thing  as  this 
could  happen,  why  shouldn't  that  other  thing 
happen,  too  ?  Why  shouldn't  another  fallen  writer 
forget  the  promise  he  had  made  to  his  wife,  seizo 
the  hand  of  his  former  ideal,  and  fly  away  with 


260  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

her  out  into  tlie  world?  That  would  be  tit  for 
tat. 

Her  two  eyes  flamed  as  she  looked  at  me  and 
laughed.  It  was  just  as  if  she  knew  she  had 
wounded  me  and  would  fain  stir  me  up  to  ven- 
geance. 

She  had  destroyed  my  idol :  belief  in  a  woman's 
heart. 

Women  were  all  alike ! 

"  No,  no,  no !     My  wife  is  not  like  other  women." 

I  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  the  precipitous  rock, 
made  a  speaking-trumpet  of  the  palms  of  both 
hands,  and  called  loudly  down  into  the  valley 
"  Wasa  hoa  !  " 

The  echo  repeated  my   words.      And  not   long 

afterwards  could   be  heard  from  below  the  proud 

refrain : — 

"Whom  lie  meets  upon  his  way 
EUm  he  cruelly  doth  slay; 
But  if  a  pretty  girl  draw  near, 
Ah,  then  what  gayer  cavalier! 
Tremble  and  quake  j-e  tongues  that  lie, 
And  speak  his  name  all  whisp'ringly : 
Diavolo,  diavolo,  diavolo!  " 

As  the  song  drew  nearer,  I  packed  up  my  traps 
and  clasped  my  stick  all  ready  to  say  good-bye. 

'  Forget  what  we  have  been  speaking  about !  " 

I  said  this. 

"  Have  we  been  speaking  about  anything,  then  ? 
I  didn't  know  !  "  replied  the  lady  with  the  eyes  like 
the  sea. 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  •       361 

"  Adieu ! " 

"Adieu!" 

I  was  quite  persuaded  that  we  should  never  meet 
ngain. 

I  did  not  wait  till  my  friend  had  climbed  up  again 
out  of  his  hole.  They  would  easily  find  one  another. 
The  snow  had  already  begun  to  fall  in  thick  flakes. 
I  set  off  homewards. 

The  snowstorm  drove  full  against  me  as  I  pro- 
ceeded. I  had  very  nearly  lost  myself  in  the  forest. 
The  evening  had  fallen  early ;  by  the  time  I  had 
descended  from  the  hill  it  was  quite  dark. 

But  still  darker  was  what  I  carried  with  me  in 
my  brain — the  black  thought  that  there  was  now  no 
such  thing  as  love  or  loving  remembrance  in  the 
world.  Where  we  fall,  there  we  lie,  and  none  cares. 
Some  of  us  die,  and  there  is  none  to  mourn  us; 
the  rest  of  us  remain  alive,  and  mourn  over  our- 
selves. 

How  fair  is  the  fate  of  a  fallen  tree.  There  it 
lies,  and  the  ground-ivy  covers  it. 

If  the  wild  beasts  were  to  tear  me  to  pieces  now, 
nobody  would  know  where  T  had  perished. 

At  last  I  stumbled  upon  the  linden  spring. 

This  was  a  good  guide.  The  stream  flows  right 
along  beside  the  house  of  the  Csanyis  ;  one  can  get 
home  by  keeping  near  its  banks,  even  in  the  dark. 

My  soul  blamed  me  for  having  passed  so  much 
time  by  the  Pagan  Altar  with  that  "  other " 
woman. 


262  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

The  snow  now  completely  covered  the  fields,  and 
through  it  in  serpentine  flight  darted  the  threefold 
stream.  The  autumn  leaves  were  still  on  the  trees, 
their  crowns  bent  down  beneath  loads  of  snow.  The 
whole  landscape  was  sombre,  but  it  was  not  more 
sombre  than  my  soul. 

Suddenly,  like  a  ray  of  hope,  the  window-light  of 
the  little  house  in  which  I  was  lodging  flashed  out 
before  me.  It  stood  at  the  end  of  the  village,  and 
was  the  last  house  of  all. 

I  was  utterly  wearied  both  in  body  and  soul  when 
I  arrived  at  last  at  the  little  dwelling. 

It  had  neither  courtyard  nor  enclosure.  It  stood 
right  out  upon  the  road.  The  carts  and  ploughs 
stood  there  beneath  a  shed.  There  are  no  thieves 
here. 

The  door  of  the  house  is  never  bolted,  and  it  opens 
out  upon  a  little  passage.  On  the  right-hand  side  of 
this  passage  lie  kitchen  and  store-room ;  on  the 
left  the  living-rooms,  and  a  side  chamber,  which 
served  me  as  a  bedroom,  and  the  rest  of  the  family 
as  a  sort  of  withdrawing-room.  It  is  the  only  room 
in  the  house  which  has  a  deal  floor,  all  the  other 
floors  are  of  clay. 

The  kitchen  door  was  also  open,  and  a  large  fire 
was  blazing  on  the  open  hearth.  My  hostess  with 
her  serving-maid  was  busy  baking  and  boiling. 

When  I  bade  her  good  evening,  she  glanced  at  me 
with  a  roguish  smile. 

"  Ei,  ei !    A  nice  time  to  come  home,  1  must  say  I 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  263 

But  go  into  the  room — supper  will  be  ready  pre- 
sently." 

I  went  into  the  room. 

By  the  lighted  stove  sat  my  wife ! 

Rapturous  joy  drove  every  other  thought  out  of 
my  soul. 

I  don't  know  what  I  said.  I  wouldn't  believe  she 
was  there  till  I  had  caught  her  in  my  arms  and 
embraced  her  tightly. 

'Tis  true,  'tis  true,  'tis  true — loyalty,  love,  sweet 
remembrance  still  belong  to  this  world  ! 

She  told  me  afterwards — very  briefly  —  how  ill 
she  had  been.  She  had  wanted  to  come  before,  but 
couldn't ;  as  it  was,  she  had  left  Pest  by  stealth,  and 
had  come  with  a  passport  made  out  under  a  false 
name.  She  had  suffered  much  on  the  way.  She 
had  gone  astray  in  the  snowstorm  in  the  beech 
woods,  and  it  had  been  as  much  as  she  could  do  to 
find  her  way  again.  She  had  been  terrified  by  the 
wolves,  whose  howls  even  now  resounded  from  the 
woods.    . 

And  all  the  while  I  suffered  the  mental  torture  of 
a  man  who  hears  the  person  who  is  talking  to  him 
and  the  person  who  has  been  talking  to  him  at  the 
same  time.  I  saw  the  one  figure  and  I  saw  the 
other  also. 

Our  good  host,  worthy  Beno  Csanyi,  as  he  sat  by 
the  table,  kept  on  mumbling  in  his  beard  :  "  That's 
something  like  a  woman  —  that  is  a  wife,  if  you 
like!" 


264  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

Well,  now  that  we  are  both  together  again, 
what  does  it  all  matter  ? 

Yes,  but  how  long  shall  we  be  together  again  ? 

My  wife  must  go  back  the  day  after  to-morrow. 
Only  grudgingly  had  the  director  of  the  theatre 
allowed  her  a  four  days'  leave.  On  the  fifth  day 
she  must  play. 

But  my  captivity  was  soon  to  draw  to  a  close. 

My  wife  took  a  carefully  concealed  piece  of  paper 
from  her  breast ;  it  was  a  tiny  little  grey  schedule, 
but  that  little  schedule  was  in  those  days  a  great 
treasure.  It  was  the  guarantee  of  my  liberation — a 
Comorn  passport. 

It  was  a  very  simple  method  of  deliverance,  as 
simple  as  the  egg  of  Columbus. 

"When  the  fortress  of  Comorn  capitulated,  each 
of  the  officers  of  the  garrison  there  received  a  pass- 
port which  guaranteed  his  life  and  liberty,  and  also 
dispensed  him  from  enrolment  in  the  Austrian  army. 
My  wife  managed  to  procure  me  such  a  passport  in 
the  simplest  way  in  the  world.  There  was  o,  brother 
of  Szigligeti's  in  the  Comorn  garrison,  Vincent 
Szathmary  (Szathmary  was  their  family  name),  who 
wrote  my  name  down  in  the  list  of  the  capitulating 
officers  as  a  Honved  lieutenant,  and  handed  the 
passport  bearing  my  name  to  my  wife. 

This  was  the  reason  why  I  was  obliged  to  remain 
in  concealment  in  the  meantime. 

Thus  my  dove  had  brought  me  two  leaves  of  the 
olive-branch,  namely,  life   and    liberty;   but  how 


THE  DEMON'S  BAIT  265 

about  the  third  ?  I  had  still  to  wait  for  that.  I 
was  not  free  to  come  forth  till  I  got  it.  I  should 
have  to  wait  till  she  came  back  for  me  a  second 
time.  I  no  longer  ran  any  risk  of  being  condemned, 
but  I  might  still  run  the  risk  of  being  interned  at 
my  native  place,  Comorn,  and  that  would  have  been 
a  fresh  torment  for  me. 

Then  my  wife  asked  me :  "  Have  you  been  think- 
ing of  me  also  all  this  time  ?  " 

And  if  I  had  not  been  able  to  answer,  "  Always  of 
thee ! "  and  if,  while  saying  this,  I  had  not  been 
able  to  look  her  honestly  in  the  face,  she  would  have 
been  amply  justified  in  tearing  the  passport  to  pieces 
and  flinging  the  fragments  in  my  face. 


CHAPTEE  XV 

MABVELS   NOT   TO   BE   SEEN  FOB  MONEY 

TT  was  now  four  years  since  I  had  made  friends 
-*-  with  the  beech  woods.  For  two  years  I  was 
"  Sajo,"  but  after  that  I  was  again  able  to  practise 
the  art  of  letters  in  my  own  name. 

My  wife  and  I  saw  nobody,  and  nobody  came  to 
see  us.  "We  had  both  of  us  quite  enough  to  do 
without  paying  visits.  My  wife  was  an  actress, 
and  I  an  author.  And  let  nobody  suppose  that 
actresses  and  authors  live  in  the  land  of  Cockaigne.^ 
Both  have  very  hard  work  to  do,  and  rest  is  their 
dearest  recreation. 

Unfortunately  I  was  engaged  in  publishing  and 
editing.  Nominally,  indeed,  the  director  of  the 
National  Theatre  was  the  responsible  editor  and 
publisher  of  the  belle-lettristic  and  artistic  journal 
Delihab,  for  my  name  was  still  under  police  super- 
vision ;  but,  in  reality,  I  wrote  and  edited  the  whole 
paper,  corrected  the  proofs,  and  folded  up,  directed, 
and  despatched  the  copies  of  it  to  the  subscribers 
^— and  got  into  trouble  for  it  besides. 

My  only  assistant  was  a  worthy,  semi-rustic,  very 
pronounced  Hungarian  lad,  called  Coloman  Iglodi, 
^  Lit.,  a  sky  full  of  fiddles. 

866 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    267 

who  had  served  as  lieutenant  under  the  banner  of 
the  red-capped  Honveds  in  our  Utopian  days.*  At 
the  battle  of  Tarczal  he  had  received  three  bullets, 
one  in  the  face,  the  second  in  the  arm,  and  the 
third  in  the  leg,  and  these  wounds  he  had  to  thank 
for  his  dismissal  as  a  genuine  invalid.  So  he  joined 
me  as  messenger,  secretary,  and  door-keeper,  and 
a  worthy,  honest  fellow  he  was. 

One  afternoon  "clerk  Coloman"  (that  was  his 
familiar  epithet)  opened  the  door  of  my  working- 
room.  "  I  beg  pardon,  sir,"  said  he,  "  but  a  cuiras- 
sier is  here." 

"  What  sort  of  a  cuirassier  ?  " 

"  A  senior  lieutenant." 

"  What  does  he  want  with  me,  I  wonder?" 

In  the  fifties  the  visit  of  an  officer  v/as  tantamount 
to  a  challenge.  Those  were  the  days  of  the  famous 
political  duels  in  which  Coloman  Tisza,^  Julius 
Szapary,^  and  Francis  Beniczky  fought  with  the 
delegated  officers. 

"  Admit  him  !  " 

"  Call  me,  please,  if  necessary,"  said  clerk  Coloman 
confidentially,  making  at  the  same  time  a  significant 
movement  with  the  paper-knife. 

Then  the  visitor  entered. 

In  figure  he  was  half  a  head  taller  than  me  at 

1  i.e.,  during  the  war. 

*  The  late  Prime  Minister  of  Hungary  and  leader  of  the 
Liberal  party  there. 

3  The  present  Prime  Minister. — Since  this  note  Avas  written, 
Szapary  has  given  way  to  Weckerle. 


268  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

the  very  least.  He  was  a  strong,  broad-shouldered 
fellow.  His  bony  face  wore  quite  a  stony  expression 
by  reason  of  a  powerful  eagle  nose  and  a  broad 
double  chin.  On  the  other  hand  this  sternness  was 
somewhat  contradicted  by  a  pair  of  honest,  bright- 
blue  eyes,  a  little  mouth,  and  offensively  light  hair, 
though  his  eyebrows,  moustache,  and  whiskers  were 
even  lighter. 

My  visitor,  as  he  advanced  from  my  door  to  my 
writing-table,  took  those  three  short  mazurka  steps 
which,  with  men,  are  generally  the  preliminaries 
to  a  military  salute  ;  he  held,  close  pressed  to  his 
thigh,  his  beautiful  helmet,  with  the  golden  lions 
and  the  black-yellow  plumes ;  and  when  he  stood 
in  front  of  me,  he  clashed  his  spurs  together  and 
introduced  himself  in  Hungarian. 

"  I  am  "Wenceslaus  Kvatopil,  senior  lieutenant  of 
dragoons." 

He  had  the  peculiar  habit  of  accompanying  every 
word  with  an  explanatory  movement  of  his  hand, 
so  that  a  stone-deaf  person  could  have  understood 
perfectly  what  he  meant.  The  deprecatory  move- 
ment of  his  hand  meant — Wenceslaus  Kvatopil ; 
the  indication  of  the  twin  stars  on  his  collar  meant 
that  he  was  a  lieutenant;  the  slight  elevation  of 
his  helmet  signified  that  he  was  a  dragoon,  and  the 
simultaneous  sweep  of  the  hand  towards  his  breast 
gave  me  to  understand  that  he  was  not  a  cuirassier. 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  I  said;  "how  can  I  be 
of  service?" 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    269 

"  I  should  like  to  have  a  long  conversation  with 
you,  sir,  if  you  will  let  me." 

At  this  I  would  have  offered  him  a  chair,  but  on 
no  account  in  the  world  would  he  suffer  me  to  do 
so,  but  helped  himself  to  one,  and  then  once  more 
apologised  for  the  trouble  he  was  giving  before  he 
sat  down  opposite  to  me. 

I  begged  him  to  address  me  in  German,  as  I  was 
quite  capable  of  making  myself  understood  in  that 
tongue. 

"  No  !  no  !  En  dkarom  magyariul  beszelni  "  * — 
and  at  the  same  time  he  made  as  though  he  were 
ducking  the  head  of  a  refractory  urchin  in  a  basin 
of  soapsuds. 

"  Akardk,^^  I  good-humouredly  corrected  him. 

"  No !  no !  Akarok  is  the  indefinite  mood,  akarom 
the  definite  mood ;  and  I  want  to  speak  Hungarian 
definitely  y 

I  was  forced  to  acknowledge  to  myself  that  his 
logic  was  stronger  than  his  grammar. 

"  I  was  born  in  Leutomischl  "  ^ — here  he  let  his 
head  fall  regretfully  on  his  breast. 

I  with  corresponding  pantomime  replied  that  that 
need  not  make  any  difference  between  us. 

"My  father  was" — here  with  both  hands  he  took 
aim  with  an  imaginary  gun. 

It  now  occurred  to  me  why  he  made  all  these 

'  "  I  want  to  talk  in  Hungarian." 

-  A  Bohemian  town.  He  meant  by  this  that  he  belonged 
to  Czech  officials  who  had  been  forced  upon  Hungary.— Tr. 


270  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

gestures.  Such  is  often  the  way  with  those  who 
have  taught  themselves  a  foreign  language  without 
a  master,  and  cannot  find  quickly  enough  the  word 
they  want.     I  hastened  to  his  assistance. 

"  A  forester  ?  " 

"Yes,  a  forester.  He  had  sons" — he  lifted  up 
both  hands,  and  then  one  finger. 

"Eleven?" 

"  Yes,  eleven.  I  myself  was  " — he  held  the  palm 
of  his  hand  quite  low  down  towards  the  floor. 

"The  youngest?" 

"  Yes,  the  youngest." 

"My  father  gave  me" — here  followed  a  very 
suggestive  gesture. 

"  Yes,  a  very  rigorous  education." 

"  But  it  was  all  " — he  lightly  tapped  the  hollow 
of  his  hand,  as  much  as  to  say  "  No  good  !  " 

"  He  wanted  me  to  be  " — he  laid  the  palms  of  his 
hands  together  as  if  in  prayer. 

"  A  priest  ?  " 

"  Quite  right !  I  wouldn't  " — a  snap  of  the  fingers, 
and  then  a  lizard-like  dart  into  the  palm  of  the 
hand. 

"  You  mean  to  say  you  took  French  leave  of  the 
Seminary  ?  " 

At  this  we  both  laughed.  The  gesture  next  fol- 
lowing— a  smack  on  the  palm  of  the  hand  illustrated 
by  a  little  equitation  on  the  back  of  a  chair — gave 
me  to  understand  that  my  visitor  had  then  become 
a  soldier. 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    271 

"  At  four-and-twenty  I  was  a  lieutenant.  I  lay  at 
Cracow  for  two  years.  I  served  in  the  Hungarian 
war  from  beginning  to  end.  I  am  now  thirty- four 
years  old.  And  still  I  am  only  a  heutenant.  Curious, 
isn't  it  ?  " 

I  agreed  with  him  that  it  was  certainly  most 
surprising. 

"  My  other  comrades — no,  not  comrades^  that's  a 
French  word." 

"  Bajtarsai?  "  ^  I  suggested. 

"  Yes,  of  course !  my  other  bajtarsai  all  became 
captains  and  majors,  and  have  got  decorations.  I've 
nothing !  Nothing,  I  tell  you !  And  I'm  pretty 
plucky  too.  I'm  a  good  horseman — I've  never  given 
offence — I  understand  my  duties.  "What  do  you 
think  the  cause  is  ?  " 

I  really  was  curious  myself  to  know  the  cause  of 
this  misadventure. 

"  All  through  the  war  I  was  interned  at  Temesvar 
with  my  squadron.  No  occasion  for  displaying 
valour.  Cavalry  behind  trenches.  My  comrades 
all  on  the  battle-field " — he  made  a  swift  motion 
with  his  hand. 

"And  fought  bravely?"  said  I,  completing  the 
sentence. 

"  Yes,  they  fought  bravely,  whilst  we  horsemen 
besieged  in  the  fortress  might " — here  he  put  the 
tips  of  his  thumbs  between  his  teeth  and  puffed  out 
his  cheeks. 

-  "  Your  comrades  " — the  Hungarian  equivalent. 


272  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  Smoke  your  pipes  ?  "  I  suggested. 

"  Yes,  we  smoked  our  pipes." 

Here  we  both  gave  way  to  merriment  once  more. 
Again  I  urged  upon  my  visitor  to  speak  in  Grerman, 
and  we*  could  then  perhaps  get  along  more  easily, 
but  he  only  replied,  "  Muszaj !  "  ^  "Well,  if  he  knows 
even  that  Hungarian  word,  I  thought,  he  must  have 
his  own  way,  that's  all. 

"  Yes,  I  must  speak  Hungarian,  by  command  of 
the  highest  authority." 

"  The  highest  ?  " 

With  that  he  seized  the  lappets  of  my  coat  with 
both  hands. 

"  Come,  now  !  Do  you  know  who  is  the  greatest 
tyrant  in  the  whole  world  ?  " 

"  Dionysius  of  Syracuse." 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !  Young  blood !  'Tis  this !  "—and 
with  his  index  finger  he  tapped  himself  between  his 
fourth  and  fifth  ribs  on  the  left-hand  side. 

"The  heart,  eh?" 

"You're  right.  The  heart.  'Tis  the  greatest 
tyrant.     It  commands  me  to  speak  Hungarian." 

"  Then  you  are  in  love,  eh  ?  " 

A  gesture  with  the  palm  of  his  hand  right  up  to 
the  chin  was  the  answer. 

"Up  to  the  neck,  eh?" 

"  No,  over  head  and  ears." 

*  A  corruption  of  the  German  mu^^en,  but  as  used  in  Hun- 
garian it  expresses  the  most  emphatic  necessity.  When  all 
other  arguments  fail,  the  word  muazaj  is  supposed  to  carry 
everything  bafore  it.— Tr. 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    273 

*'  "With  a  lovely  Hungarian  damsel  ?  " 

He  raised  liis  three  fingers  -closely  pressed  to- 
gether to  his  lips,  which  were  pointed  as  if  to 
receive  a  kiss,  thereby  explaining  that  she  was  very 
lovely. 

Then  he  passed  his  extended  palms  softly  over  his 
face,  then,  joining  them  together  beneath  his  chin, 
affirmed,  so  far  as  I  understood  him,  that  she  was 
also  young  and  charming. 

Then  he  pressed  his  waist  with  both  hands,  which 
meant  "  slim  as  a  lily  stalk." 

After  that  he  cracked  his  fingers  right  in  front  of 
his  eyes,  which  meant  "  What  eyes  !  " 

Finally  he  crossed  his  arms,  and  immediately 
afterwards  disengaged  them  again. 

"  In  a  word,  a  ravishing  beauty,"  said  I.  "I  con- 
gratulate you !  " 

"  I  think  you  may." 

"  Your  tender  sentiment  is  naturally  recipro- 
cated ?  " 

"  Oho !  "  and  he  caught  hold  of  the  flat  of  his 
sword. 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  insinuate  the  contrary,"  I  said. 

"Naturally." 

Then  he  was  silent,  and  began  to  fumble  about 
his  stiff  cravat.  I  saw  that  he  wanted  me  to  ask 
him  some  more  questions. 

"  A  maiden  lady  ?  " 

"Oh,  no!" 

"Then  a  widow  lady?" 


2t4  EYES  Li  ICE  THE  SEA 

"Ah,  no!" 

"  Then  it  can't  be  a  lady  at  all? " 

"  No,  no !     What  are  you  thinking  of  ?  " 

"  Then  what  is  she  ?  " 

"A  lady  who  has  a  husband,  bat  yet  is  not  a 
married  lady." 

"Aha!    Kdivorcief" 

"  Yes." 

"  Then  the  relations  between  you  are  quite  legiti- 
mate." 

At  this,  my  lieutenant  of  dragoons  rose  from  his 
chair  and  stood  before  me  in  quite  a  magisterial 
position.    I  also  stood  up. 

"  The  lady  desires  you  to  be  her  .  .  ." — here 
the  word  he  wanted  would  not  occur  to  him.  He 
raised  the  three  first  fingers  of  his  right  hand  above 
his  head,  like  one  who  is  taking  an  oath.  I  guessed 
his  meaning. 

"  A  witness  to  her  marriage  ?  " 

"  No,  not  that.     She  used  another  word." 

"  Oh,  she  meant  I  was  to  give  her  away  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that  is  it.    How  1  do  forget !  " 

"  Then  is  the  chosen  of  your  heart  an  acquaint- 
ance of  mine  ?  " 

"  Naturally.  If  I  were  only  to  mention  her  first 
name  you  would  remember  at  once.     Bessy  ! " 

"Ah,  Bessy!" 

"How  red  you've  got!  You  were  in  love  with 
her  once  yourself.  I  know!  She  told  me.  Well, 
will  you  give  her  away  ?  " 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    275 

"  With  pleasure." 

"Eeally?" 

"  With  all  my  heart." 

Then  he  caught  hold  of  my  hand  with  both  his 
hands ;  squeezed  my  hand  violently,  and  his  eyes 
grew  quite  tiny  with  sheer  rapture.  I  believed  he 
would  have  liked  to  kiss  me  ;  but  he  had  a  big  nose, 
and  I  had  a  big  nose,  too,  so  we  could  not  very  well 
have  managed  it. 

"  Then  will  you  allow  me  to  bring  in  my  bride  ?  " 

"Whence?" 

"  She  is  waiting  outside," 

"  Not  on  the  staircase  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed.  On  the  staircase.  She  won't  come 
in  till  she's  quite  sure  you'll  give  her  away.  She's 
a  bit  shy," 

I  immediately  hastened  to  open  the  door  for  my 
hesitating  visitor. 

It  really  was  Bessy. 

It  was  winter  time  just  then,  and  she  had  all 
sorts  of  furry  garments  upon  her,  and  a  furred  cap 
on  her  head ;  she  looked  just  like  a  fair  Muscovite, 

There  really  seemed  to  be  some  sort  of  coquettish 
bashfulness  in  her  face. 

I  couldn't  imagine  why.  I  had  seen  her  face  be- 
fore under  many  similar  circumstances,  and  after 
Muki  Bagotay,  Peter  Gyuricza,  and  Tihamer  Ren- 
getegi,  Wencesclaus  Kvatopil  was  decidedly  an  im- 
provement. 

The  bridegroom  remained  in   the   room  while  I 


276  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

admitted  the  lady.  Then  he  first  craved  permission 
to  Mss  her  hand,  and  then  begged  her  pardon  for 
kissing  it.  After  that  there  was  absolutely  no  get- 
ting him  to  take  a  seat,  but  he  persisted  in  standing 
on  one  spot,  leaning  over  the  back  of  the  arm-chair 
in  which  his  lady  sat. 

"  Have  you  grasped  what  my  hero  has  told  you  ?  " 
inquired  Bessy,  when  she  had  got  over  her  first 
embarrassment.  "  Just  fancy !  he  has  given  me  his 
word  as  a  gentleman  that  henceforth  he'll  never 
address  a  word  to  any  Hungarian  except  in  the 
Hungarian  language.  And  he  tortures  his  Hun- 
garian orderly  to  death  with  it  to  begin  with." 

"A  most  laudable  resolve,"  I  was  obliged  to 
answer. 

"  But  now,  first  of  all,  let  me  explain  to  you  why 
I  ask  3'^ou  to  put  yourself  to  the  inconvenience  of 
giving  me  away." 

I  assured  her  that  to  give  her  away  was  not  an 
inconvenience,  but  a  pleasure. 

"  After  our  last  meeting  you  never  anticipated, 
perhaps,  that  we  should  meet  again  in  this  life  ?  " 

I  lifted  my  head  and  looked  at  her  with  amaze- 
ment. 

"  Oh !  we  can  say  anything  before  him "  (here 
she  pointed  at  her  bridegroom).  "  He's  as  nice  and 
good  a  boy  as  ever  lived.  I  could  twist  him  round 
my  little  finger  if  I  liked.  You  can  say  anything 
before  him.  You  know  my  story,  I  think,  up  to  the 
time  when  I  had  to  go  into  hiding  with  Balvanyossi 


MARVELS  NOT   TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    277 

after  the  Revolution.  I  shouldn't  like  you  to 
imagine  that  I  quitted  that  man  from  pure  light- 
ness of  heart.  Just  fancy !  he  had  the  impudence 
to  commit  that  act  of  baseness  which  I  mentioned  to 
you :  he  told  the  Imperial  Commissioner  the  whole 
story  of  the  conveying  of  those  despatches,  cleared 
himself  from  the  accusation  of  that  heroic  deed,  and 
at  the  same  time  denounced  me.  He  justified  himself 
to  me  on  the  ground  that  it  was  necessary  to  ^purify 
himself/  in  order  that  he  might  obtain  a  theatrical 
licence,  and  that  they  would  not  impute  this  little 
joke  to  me  because  I  was  a  woman.  But  they  did 
impute  it !  They  arrested  me,  they  imprisoned  me, 
and  they  severely  cross-examined  me.  And  I  have 
to  thank  this  worthy  young  fellow  alone  for  getting 
off  scot-free.  He  took  my  part.  But  for  him  I 
should  have  had  to  pay  most  dearly  for  my  heroic 
exploit.     Shouldn't  I,  Wenzy  ?  " 

The  lieutenant  hinted,  with  a  deprecatory  wave  of 
his  hand,  that  no  more  need  be  said  about  the  matter. 

"  Hence  our  acquaintance  began,"  continued  the 
lady,  "  and  this,  perhaps,  will  justify  me  in  your  eyes 
for  selecting  a  foreigner,  a  foreign  officer,  as  my 
fanc4.  I  had  very  strong  reasons,  you  must  admit, 
for  growing  cold  towards  my  former  hero." 

The  fair  lady  did  not  appear  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  impression  that  her  eyes  had  made  upon  me  ;  at 
least,  I  had  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  following 
commentary  was  intended  not  so  much  for  the 
delight  of  her  bridegroom  as  for  my  own  edification. 


278  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  Believe  me  (I  am  perfectly  serious  about  it), 
I  am  not  merely  grateful  to  Kvatopil  because  ho 
has  rescued  me  from  my  great  difficulties,  and, 
what  is  more,  from  any  further  improprieties  on  the 
part  of  that  Barabbas  Balvanyossi; — no,  I  also 
esteem  him  as  a  noble  nature  worthy  of  all  respect ; 
from  the  crown  of  his  head  to  the  tip  of  his  toe  he  is 
full  of  the  love  of  truth,  not  even  in  jest  would  he 
tell  a  lie.  He  is  valiant  and  strong-minded,  and  at 
the  same  time  affectionate  and  tender-hearted.  A 
man  of  his  word,  in  fact,  who  does  not  lightly  give 
his  word  either.     A  really  model  man." 

A  pencil  was  in  my  hand,  and  before  me  was  a 
blank  sheet  of  paper,  and  I  involuntarily  scribbled 
on  this  piece  of  paper  "  Number  4." 

The  lady  grasped  the  import  of  my  hieroglyphic 
and  shook  her  head,  but  she  smiled  a  little  too. 

"  But  he  is  not  like  the  others,"  she  insisted  ;  "  he 
is  the  direct  opposite  of  what  ladies'  men  think  a 
man  should  be.  It  will  sound  incredible,  I  know, 
but  it  is  the  simple  fact  that  he  has  been  my  visitor 
these  three  years.  He  has  come  to  see  me  nearly 
every  day  during  that  period,  and  never  has  he 
permitted  himself  a  single  bold  advance  or  a  single 
unbecoming  expression.  Every  day  I  have  to  tell 
him,  just  as  if  it  were  the  first  time,  to  take  a  seat, 
put  down  his  helmet,  and  place  his  sword  in  the 
corner,  and  our  conversation  has  never  gone  beyond 
the  criticism  of  Schiller's  verses." 

I  was  bound  to  admit  that  this  was  really  an 
extraordinary  case. 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    279 

"I  couldn't  help  rallying  liim  about  it,"  continued 
the  lady  ;  "  you  know  that  I  am  not  accustomed  to 
a  wooer  who  imitates  the  statue  of  Memnon;  and 
then  Kvatopil  confessed,  with  perfect  simplicity, 
that  he  was  afraid  of  me.  *  If  I  were  as  timid  on 
the  battle-field,'  said  he,  'as  I  am  in  your  presence. 
His  Majesty  would  only  give  me  my  deserts  by  dis- 
missing me  from  his  service.'  " 

The  lieutenant  signified  by  a  nod  of  his  head  that 
his  words  had  been  correctly  reported. 

"  Finally,"  continued  Bessy,  "  I  had  to  ask  for  his 
hand — hadn't  I,  my  friend  ?  " 

The  bridegroom  replied  that  such  had  indeed 
been  the  case. 

"  Even  then  he  was  quite  coy.  He  pleaded  his 
humble  rank.  He  begged  time  for  consideration. 
Now,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  did." 

"  I  had  to  remove  his  scruples  one  by  one,  till  at 
last  I  brought  him  to  a  definite  declaration,  and  he 
gaid  he  would  take  me  to  wife.  Never  have  I  met 
with  such  an  officer  before." 

Bessy  read  from  my  face  the  expression,  "  Why 
bother  me  with  all  this?"  I  never  asked  about  it, 
and  I  didn't  care  a  fig  about  her  affairs. 

"  Look  now,"  continued  she,  in  an  almost  suppli- 
cating voice,  "  I  don't  tell  you  all  these  things  to 
amuse  you,  but  because  I  have  an  earnest  request  to 
make  of  you." 

"  So  the  lieutenant  informed  me." 


280  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  I  don't  mean  about  giving  me  away — that  is  not 
a  serious  request.  You  would  do  that  to  oblige  any 
servant  of  yours.  I  have  a  much  greater  request 
than  that  to  make.  I  wish  to  ask  you  to  be  my 
guardian,  my  foster-father." 

"  I  ?    Your  foster-father  f  " 

"  Don't  put  so  much  emphasis  on  the  word  father. 
You  are  four  years  older  than  I  am,  remember." 

"What  does  a  married  woman  want  with  a 
guardian  ?  " 

"  I  assume  the  case  of  a  married  woman  who  mis- 
manages her  property." 

"And  do  you  believe,  then,  that  /  am  such  a 
great  financier  ?  " 

"  I  believe  that  you  are  my  sincere  friend,  any- 
how. You  are  my  only  real  friend  in  the  round 
world  who  neither  asks  nor  expects  an3'thing  for  his 
kindness  to  me.  I  know  it  from  experience.  You 
have  heard,  no  doubt  (and  if  you  haven't  heard,  you 
might  easily  have  guessed  it),  that  my  relations 
have  shaken  me  off.  They  deny  that  they  ever 
knew  me.  My  mother  has  married  again  and  re- 
moved to  Prague.  Every  one  in  whom  I  would 
confide  tries  to  get  something  out  of  me — either 
money,  or  what  is  more  precious  than  money. 
Whosoever  would  attach  himself  to  me  is  either  a 
swindler,  or  a  seducer,  or  a  parasite.  As  for  myself, 
I  am  a  stupid,  credulous  creature,  who  will  never 
have  any  brains  to  bless  herself  with.  I  need  a 
strong  hand  over  me,  some   one   to   look  after  lay 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    281 

material  interests  and  save  me  from  bankruptcy, 
some  one  in  whose  good-will  I  may  confide.  I  know 
very  well  I  might  find  a  more  experienced  guardian 
than  you,  even  if  I  went  no  further  than  the  civic 
magistrates ;  but  I  could  endure  dictation  from 
nobody — but  you.  Your  dictation  I  could  put  up 
with.     For  Heaven's  sake  do  not  let  me  perish  !  " 

I  could  not  help  being  sorry  for  her.  I  perceived 
also  that  she  forbore  to  take  my  hand.  Still,  it  is 
a  rather  ticklish  position  to  become  the  guardian  of 
a  pretty  woman,  especially  a  pretty  woman  of  this 
kind. 

"  Very  well,  I  don't  mind.  But  let  us  consider 
the  whole  business  seriously.  I  suppose  the  lieu- 
tenant agrees  to  it  ?  " 

Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  assured  me  that  he  had  no 
will  of  his  own  in  the  matter. 

-''  "Well,  now,  let  us  consider  the  merits  of  the  case. 
Have  you  still  got  the  money  which  you  deposited 
in  the  Vienna  savings  bank  ?  " 

'^  Yes,  and  as  soon  as  you  are  my  guardian,  I  mean 
to  draw  it  out  and  deposit  it  in  the  bank  at  Pest." 

'■*  So  much  the  better,  it  will  be  more  convenient 
for  the  quarterly  payments  of  interest.  And  then, 
too,  you  will  have  to  pay  out  of  this  amount  the 
usual  caution-money  required  of  every  officer  about 
to  marry." 

"  Yes,  I  know.     Six  thousand  florins." 

"  Of  course,  you  might  also  mortgage  your  father's 
house  to  this  amount." 


282  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  Whichever  you  think  best." 

"  I  think  the  latter  way  will  be  best,  for  I  foresee 
that  you  will  get  very  little  profit  from  your  houses, 
and  I  want  to  save  as  much  of  your  ready  money  as 
possible." 

"  Save,  do  you  say  ?  "  cried  Bessy,  opening  her 
eyes  very  wide  at  this  word. 

I  scratched  my  head  all  over  (I  had  lots  of  hair  to 
scratch  in  those  days).  It  was  my  duty  as  guardian 
to  express  my  views  with  perfect  candour.  At  last 
I  found  the  requisite  formula. 

"  Look  now,  my  sweet  ward  Bessy,  and  you  also, 
respected  lieutenant,  I  have  seen  all  sorts  of  wonders 
in  my  lifetime,  I  have  seen  a  one-legged  ballet- 
dancer  who  could  turn  the  most  difficult  pirouettes  ; 
I  have  seen  a  painter  without  hands  who  painted 
masterly  pictures  with  his  feet ;  I  have  seen  a  blind 
actor  who  played  Hamlet  right  to  the  very  end. 
But  what  I  never  have  seen  yet  is  a  cavalry  officer 
without  debts." 

At  this,  the  pair  of  them  burst  into  a  loud  ha ! 
ha !  ha ! 

"  No,  no !  "  cried  the  bridegroom,  "  I  am  not  such 
a  wonder  as  that !  " 

I  now  begged  him,  since  we  had  become  so  con- 
fidential, to  be  so  good  as  to  draw  his  chair  close  to 
the  table  and  put  down  his  beautiful  helmet  with 
the  black  and  yellow  plumes  and  go  into  figures. 

"  How  much  do  your  debts  amount  to  ?  " 

And  a  very  pretty  little  amount  he  made  of  it. 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    283 

The  bridegroom  could  read  from  my  face  that  I 
thought  the  amount  a  trifle  extravagant  for  a  lieu- 
tenant ;  for  that  amount  Bessy  could  have  got  a 
major  at  least.     He  hastened  to  explain  matters. 

"I  did  not  incur  this  large  debt  myself,  the 
culprit  was  another  lieutenant,  a  friend  of  mine,  a 
rich  and  distinguished  young  fellow.  He  got  me  to 
write  my  name  to  a  bill  as  guarantor  of  the  amount. 
He  was  still  a  minor.  I  wrote  my  name,  of  course 
— what  did  I  know  about  it  ?  Suddenly,  when  my 
young  friend  got  over  head  and  ears  in  difficulties, 
he  blew  his  brains  out.  His  father  refused  to  pay 
the  bill,  and  so  I  inherited  it  from  his  creditors. 
Since  then  I  have  been  paying  and  paying,  but  the 
debt,  instead  of  diminishing,  increases,  and  the 
terrible  hoa  conscriptor  winds  itself  tighter  and 
tighter  round  my  body." 

A  boa  conscriptor  indeed,  was  this  gigantic  con- 
scriptor ^  serpent ! 

At  this  we  all  three  laughed  again,  which  was 
rather  odd,  for  there  was  nothing  at  all  to  laugh  at. 

The  long  and  the  short  of  it  all  was  that  after 
discharging  her  lover's  debts,  and  depositing  the 
caution-money,  my  ward  Bessy  still  had  twenty-five 
thousand  florins  left. 

"All  right,"  said  she,  "that's  just  why  I  asked 
you  to  be  my  guardian,  for  if  the  money  remains 

*  A  translation  of  the  Hungarian  word  Osszeiro,  which 
means  a  conscript  or  schedule  of  anything,  here  a  schedule 
of  debts. 


•284  EYES  UKE  THE  SEA 

in  my  hands,  every  bit  of  it  will  vanish  by  the  end 
of  the  year." 

"  I  wonder  youVe  kept  it  so  long." 

"  The  wonder  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  my  mother 
inhibited  the  payment  of  the  amount  to  me,  and 
this  embargo  can  only  be  removed  when  I  am 
married  to  a  man  of  rank  and  honour." 

"  You'll  have  to  be  very  economical  in  your  house- 
keeping," I  said,  "not  to  exceed  your  income." 

"There's  Kvatopil's  pay,  too,  and  as  a  cavalry 
officer  he  is  entitled  to  free  unfurnished  quarters." 

"  And  you'll  be  able  to  put  up  with  an  officer's 
free  quarters  ?  "  I  said. 

"  You  know  very  well  that  to  such  things " 
.  .  .  (I  saw  that  she  meant  to  say,  "  I  am  used 
to  such  things,"  and  I  pulled  a  wry  face.  She 
rightly  understood  from  my  pantomime  that  it 
would  be  scarcely  proper  to  mention  the  events  of 
"  Anno  Rengetegi "  in  the  presence  of  her  Royal 
and  Imperial  *  bridegroom,  so,  with  theatrical 
savoir-faire,  she  passed  in  an  instant  from  the 
impudent  nonchalance  of  a  vivandiere  to  the  tender 
cooing  of  a  turtle-dove)  .  .  .  "  true  love  is 
always  ready  to  sacrifice  itself."  And  with  an 
enchanting  smile  she  extended  her  hand  to  her 
bridegroom,  who  raised  it  with  tender  enthusiasm 
to  his  lips.     They  were  just  like  turtle-doves. 

"Eh,  Wenzy?" 

*  Eoyal  as  belonging  to  the  service  of  the  King  of 
Hungary,  Imperial  as  serving  the  Emperor  of  Austria. 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    285. 

"  Yes,  EUza  !  " 

I  felt  no  particular  pleasure  in  this  version  of 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  indeed  I  was  half-inclined  to  hiss 
the  performers. 

"Before  giving  yoa  my  paternal  blessing,  my 
dear  children,"  said  I,  "  I  have  one  question  to  ask 
you.  Most  honoured  Mr.  Lieutenant,  as  I  under- 
stand that  you  were  originally  intended  for  a  priest, 
I  presume  that  you  are  a  Catholic  ?  " 

"  A  Roman  Catholic,  yes." 

"  During  the  time  you  spsnt  in  the  Seminary, 
then,  have  you  not  so  much  as  learnt  that  a  Catholic 
is  not  free  to  marry  a  Calvinist  woman  whom  the 
civil  tribunals  have  divorced  from  her  husband ;  for, 
according  to  Catholic  dogma,  marriage  is  a  sacra- 
ment which  the  secular  power  cannot  dissolve  ?  " 

At  this  the  bridegroom  looked  very  much  amazed. 

"  Neither  of  us  thought  of  this  certainly." 

Bessy  suddenly  cast  a  basilisk  look  at  me.  Huh ! 
what  lightnings  flashed  in  those  sea-like  eyes  ! 

"  Then  how  are  we  to  get  over  that?  "  inquired 
the  bridegroom  of  me,  with  childlike  helplessness. 

"  Why,  by  your  becoming  a  Calvinist,  I  suppose." 

"  A  Ccdvi  .  .  .  "  he  was  already  outside  the 
door  when  he  said  the  ..."  nid !  "  He  caught 
up  his  helmet  and  bolted  without  saying  good-bye 
to  any  one.  Clerk  Coloman  told  me  afterwards  he 
had  never  seen  a  dragoon  in  such  a  hurry. 

Bassy  he  left  behind  on  my  hands. 

The  young  lady  was  in  a  terrible  rage. 


286  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  It  was  pure  malice  on  your  part,"  cried  she,  "  to 
do  me  out  of  my  bridegroom  like  that !  "What  do 
you  mean  by  it  ?  To  serve  me  such  a  nasty  trick  as 
that ! " 

I  justified  myself  as  best  I  could. 

"  He  would  have  had  to  know  it  sooner  or  later. 
The  priest  would  have  refused  to  unite  you." 

"  You  should  have  left  that  to  me.  If  once  I  had 
paid  his  debts,  his  honour  as  a  gentleman  would 
have  bound  him  to  make  this  sacrifice  for  me ;  he 
could  not  have  got  out  of  it  then." 

I  was  forced  to  admit  that  I  had  acted  very 
clumsily.  I  humbly  begged  her  pardon.  I  would 
never  do  it  again.  Her  next  bridegroom  might  be 
a  Mohammedan,  for  all  that  I  cared. 

"  You  never  could  speak  sensibly  to  me.  No 
matter !  I'll  bring  Wenceslaus  KvatopH  back  here 
one  of  these  days." 

And  off  she  went  in  a  huff. 

This  interruption  had  annoyed  me.  I  had  lots 
to  do.  I  had  to  write  the  addresses  of  our  sub- 
scribers on  the  covers  of  the  neatly  folded  news- 
papers. This  was  not  an  ideal  occupation,  especially 
when  one  had  to  paste  on  the  wrappers  as  well, 
which  it  was  also  my  business  to  do.  Some  proof- 
sheets  were  also  awaiting  me  with  a  lot  of  printers' 
errors.  It  was  a  realization  of  the  proverb,  "  When 
the  church  is  poor,  the  parson  tolls  the  bell  him- 
self." In  my  leisure  hours,  however — my  time  of 
repose — I  went  on  with  my  romance,  "A  Hungarian 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    28? 

Nabob  "  ;  the  idea  of  the  principal  character  I  had 
borrowed  from  a  story  of  my  wife's. 

A  couple  of  weeks  elapsed.  One  evening,  when 
I  was  hesitating  whether  I  should  go  and  see  about 
my  oil-lamp  myself,  or  wait  till  clerk  Coloman  re- 
turned home  from  the  post,  or  the  chamber-maid 
from  the  theatre,  whither  she  had  gone  to  carry  my 
consort  her  costume  in  a  basket,  a  violent  ringing 
began  outside.  I  had  to  go  and  open  the  door  my- 
self. 

To  my  great  surprise,  I  saw  Bessy  before  me  with 
her  lieutenant  on  her  arm. 

Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  was  bubbling  over  with 
affability. 

"  Here  I  am  again,  sir.  They  have  arrested  me, 
and  put  me  in  chains.     I  must  surrender." 

Yes,  I  thought,  when  the  starving  garrison  is 
reduced  to  horse-flesh. 

"  The  siege  was  vigorous.  Such  batteries.  Look ! 
Those  eyes  !  Congreve  rockets  are  nothing  in  com- 
parison.    The  star  battery  is  already  taken." 

"  The  firing  must  have  been  terrible  indeed." 

"  And  now  I  must  ask  you  once  more  to  be  my 
witness." 

"  You  mean  your  bride's  witness  ?  " 

"  No,  mine.  First  you  must  come  with  me  to  the 
priest  to  inform  him  that  I  have  renounced  the 
Catholic  faith." 

"What,  already?" 

"  Yes,  and  from  conviction." 


288  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  "Would  you  take  a  chair,  please  ?  " 

"From  absolute  conviction." 

"  Bessy  is  a  more  clever  arguer  than  any  mis- 
sionary ;  an  energetic  propagandist." 

"  And  if  I  were  to  be  damned  on  the  spot,  if  I  were 
to  lose  my  hope  of  eternal  salvation,  I  should  be  ready 
to  sacrifice  that  also  for  those  dear,  lovely  eyes." 

"  Come,  come,  Mr.  Lieutenant,"  I  said,  "  pray 
don't  talk  so  wildly." 

"  But  I  mean  what  I  say — I  am  ready  to  become 
a  Mohammedan  for  her  sake." 

"  I  can  quite  believe  it." 

"  Then  you  will  be  my  witness  at  the  priest's  ?  " 

"Pardon  me.  'Tis  a  serious  matter.  I  honour 
my  own  religion  as  much  as  other  sects  honour 
theirs,  yet  I  am  no  proselytizer.  Do  you  wish  to 
become  a  Calvinist  from  sincere  conviction  ?  " 

At  this  word  he  leaped  furiously  from  his  seat. 

"  A  Calvinist  ?    Certainly  not !     Heaven  forbid !  " 

"  Then  what  do  you  want  to  be  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  be  a  Lutheran." 

"  'Tis  aU  one." 

"  The  devil  it  is !  We  at  Leutomischl  hold  the 
Calvinists  to  be  infidels." 

"  Your  bride  might  have  told  you,  I  think,  that 
this  is  not  true." 

At  this,  Bessy  again  intervened.  She  implored 
me  prettily  not  to  deny  her  this  little  kindness. 
Kvatopil  had  only  consented  to  be  converted  be- 
cause they  have  crosses  in  the  Lutheran  churches 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY  289 

and  believe  in  the  sacraments,  so  that  by  joining 
them  a  man  does  not  risk  losing  his  heavenly  hopes 
so  much,  and  the  Commander-in-chief  would  not  be 
down  upon  him  so  fiercely  as  if  he  were  to  go  over 
to  the  Calvinist  Kuruczes.^  The  end  of  it  all  was 
that  I,  a  Calvinist  presbyter,  had  to  introduce  a 
newly-converted  soul  into  the  Lutheran  Church. 

I  really  must  have  been  a  very  good  sort  of  fellow 
formerly,  that  is  to  say,  before  my  heart  was  hard- 
ened. 

At  last  every  obstacle  was  overcome.  I  consented 
to  give  away  my  ward,  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil's 
bride.  Bessy  received  from  her  excellent  mother 
(who  was  now  a  general's  wife)  intimation  that  she 
had  withdrawn  her  sequestration  from  the  money  in 
the  Vienna  bank  ;  the  caution-money  was  deposited, 
the  boa  conscriptors  were  satisfied,  and  nothing  hin- 
dered us  from  going  to  church. 

The  marriage  party,  besides  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom, consisted  of  two  witnesses  ;  the  bridegroom's 
witness  was  a  battalion  commander,  a  major  who 
brought  his  wife  with  him. 

And  here,  perhaps,  every  one  will  ask  me  why  the 
wife  of  the  other  witness  was  not  there  also  ? 

It  is  an  awkward  question. 

I  might,  I  know,  summarily  dispose  of  the  whole 

matter  by  saying  that  my  wife  had  just  gone,  by 

special  invitation,  to  act  at  Szabadka ;  she  had  been 

'  Kurucz,  a  name  originally  given  to  the  Transylvanian 
insurgents  under  Francis  Rakoczy ;  they  were  mostly  Pro- 
testants.— Tr. 


290  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

invited,  but  could  not  come.  But  this  answer,  I 
know,  is  unsatisfactory. 

I  would,  however,  first  of  all,  lay  down  this  axiom: 
"  An  honourable  husband  should  give  his  wife  no 
occasion  for  jealousy  ;  but  neither  ought  he  to  make 
her  jealous  without  occasion.''^ 

The  sacred  truth  is  that  I  had  never  mentioned 
Bessy's  name  in  my  wife's  hearing.  ("  Slipper- 
hero  !  ")  Did  she  know  of  her  ?  I  don't  know. 
She  was  much  too  proud  to  have  ever  shown  it  if 
she  did. 

I  had  Bessy's  portrait,  and  it  was  in  the  drawer  of 
my  writing-table.  It  was  there  even  when  I  got 
married.  And  if  it  had  found  its  way  into  any  one's 
hands,  I  could  not  have  said  that  it  was  the  portrait 
of  my  grandmother.  But  this  is  what  did  happen. 
When  the  Russian  armies  broke  into  the  kingdom, 
I,  foreseeing  the  end  of  the  unequal  struggle,  shoul- 
dered my  musket,  tied  on  my  sword,  fastened  my 
knapsack  round  my  neck,  took  leave  of  my  wife,  and 
went  forth  to  seek  the  camp  of  Gorgey — on  foot. 
On  my  way  I  met  Paul  Nyary.  "  Whither  away  so 
armed  to  the  teeth,  brother  Maurice  ?  "  said  he.  "  I 
am  going  to  die  for  my  country,"  I  replied,  with 
tragic  pathos.  "  And  what  have  you  got  in  your 
knapsack ? "  "A  ham."  "  Well,  before  dying  for 
your  country,  let  us  have  a  bit  of  that  ham  of  yours 
together."  With  that  he  helped  me  up  into  his  car, 
and  in  the  car  beside  him  was  already  sitting  Joseph 
Patay — two  members  of  the  Hungary  Government 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    291 

at  Debreczin,  in  fact.  I  was  curious  enough  to  in- 
quire whither  we  were  going,  whereupon  Nyary 
replied  : 

"  The  dog  that  bolts  to  Szeged  town 
T'wards  Buda  lets  his  tail  hang  down."  * 

Even  with  the  danger  of  instant  death  hanging 
over  his  head,  his  bitter  irony  never  forsook  him. 
So  I  went  on  with  Nyary  to  Szeged.  A  week  after- 
wards my  wife  followed  me.  Our  house  she  had  en- 
trusted to  poor  old  Dame  Kovacs.  The  clever  comic 
actress  had  no  need  to  fear  the  Cossacks,  When, 
however,  the  Russians  occupied  Buda-Pest,  and  the 
rigorous  order  was  issued  that  all  arms,  uniforms, 
and  Hungarian  bank-notes  were  to  be  given  up, 
whilst  every  one  in  possession  of  a  prohibited  object 
or  a  revolutionary  proclamation  was  to  be  tried  by 
court-martial  and  shot,  then  indeed  the  good  old 
dame  ransacked  all  the  drawers  of  my  writing-table, 
and  crumpling  up  into  a  heap  all  she  found  there, 
including  Petofi's  correspondence,  a  letter  of 
Klapka's,  the  whole  of  my  diary  which  I  had 
written  during  the  Revolution,  with  innumerable 
and  invaluable  data,  pitched  the  whole  behind  the 
fire,  and  so  they  disappeared.  In  this  great  auto- 
da-fd  Bessy's  portrait  was  also  reduced  to  ashes.  I 
therefore  have  my  suspicions  that  something  was 
known  about  it,  but  nothing  was  ever  said  to  me  on 
the  subject. 

^  Buda  and  Szeged  being  in  diametrically  opposite  direc- 
tions. 


292  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

So  that,  you  see,  was  why  only  I  was  present  at 
Bessy's  wedding. 

The  rendezvous  took  place  in  her  apartments. 
Here  I  had  the  opportunity  of  making  the  acquaint- 
ance of  my  fellow-witness,  the  major  of  dragoons, 
and  a  very  genial  man  he  was.  He  was  a  good  copy 
of  a  genuine  Hungarian  lord-lieutenant  of  a  county. 
Nothing  but  cordial  hilarity  and  jovial  merriment, 
you  would  never  have  taken  him  for  a  soldier,  least 
of  all  for  an  Austrian  soldier.  He  blackguarded  the 
"  Bach  ^-hussars,"  but  had  nothing  but  praise  for 
the  Hungarians.  He  had  not  been  shut  up  in 
Temesvar  like  the  lieutenant,  but  had  been  fighting 
in  Italy,  and  had  only  just  come  hither.  He  had 
the  habit  of  seasoning  his  discourse  with  Hungarian 
proverbs  and  pithy  aphorisms.  He  introduced  his 
wife  to. me  also.  "  My  domestic  dragon,"  he  said  ; 
he  could  not  dispense  with  bis  jesting  even  then. 
The  lady,  however,  clearly  did  not  belong  to  the 
dragon  species.  On  the  contrary,  she  was  a  remark- 
ably pleasant  woman,  in  the  prime  of  life,  with 
really  handsome  features.  One  thing  I  will  say  of 
her :  when  once  she  began  to  talk  she  never  knew 
when  to  leave  off.  Her  conversation  knew  neither 
rest  nor  pause.  In  my  eyes,  however,  this  is  an 
advantage,  for  it  is  my  invariable  practice  to  enter- 
tain my  lady  friends  by  letting  them  talk  to  their 
hearts'  content,  while  I  hsten. 

*  The  reactionary  Austrian  Minister  who  was  mainly  re- 
sponsible for  the  attempted  denationalization  of  Hungary. 
— Te. 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    293 

Wlien  the  bride  was  still  in  her  boudoir,  the 
major's  lady  made  me  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  family  affairs  of  all  the  officers'  wives  in  the  regi- 
ment. When  the  bride  appeared  in  all  her  bridal 
glory,  accompanied  by  the  bridegroom,  who  held 
his  helmet  in  one  hand  and  a  gigantic  bouquet  of 
camellias  in  the  other,  the  exchange  of  notes  be- 
tween the  witness  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  witness 
of  the  bride  took  place  with  all  the  usual  form- 
alities. 

Towards  me  the  major  acted  with  the  studied 
courtesy  of  a  high  Government  official,  but  towards 
the  lieutenant  he  acted  the  part  of  a  senior  officer 
from  beginning  to  end.  He  ordered  him  about  as  if 
he  were  sitting  on  horseback  and  on  the  point  of 
setting  out  for  scout  duty.  And  the  lieutenant 
obeyed  him  like  a  machine.  In  fact,  the  bride- 
groom quite  gave  me  the  impression  of  a  man  sitting 
in  his  saddle  at  the  head  of  his  squadron.  The  small 
arms  were  beginning  to  fire,  the  musket  balls  were 
piping  about  his  ears,  the  hissing  grenades  strike  the 
ground  in  front  of  him,  and  he  cannot  so  much  as 
move  his  head  aside  till  the  liberating  command 
sounds :" Forward !  March!  Draw  your  swords! 
On  'em!  Cut,  slash!"  Stop!  "What  am  I  saying  ? 
Here  was  no  question  of  cutting  and  slashing ! 
No;  press  her  to  your  breast,  rather!  Is  she  not 
your  bride  ? 

Finally,  at  the  word  of  command,  we  reached  the 
altar. 


294  BYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

It  was  all  over.  I  had  given  Bessy  away.  Slie 
was  married. 

She  bore  up  very  gallantly ;  but  then,  of  course, 
she  had  had  a  deal  of  practice. 

But  as  for  the  bridegroom,  every  one  of  his  move- 
ments had  to  be  by  order ;  he  was  accustomed  to 
have  it  so.  He  was  so  moved  indeed  that  he  could 
scarcely  draw  off  his  glove,  and  would  have  forced 
the  bride  to  stand  on  the  right  hand,  whereas  the 
priest  wished  her  to  pass  to  the  left ;  and  when  the 
ceremony  was  over,  he  turned  towards  his  own  wit- 
ness with  the  expression  of  a  delinquent  condemned 
to  death  who  has  now  no  hope  left  save  in  the  mercy 
of  the  Court  of  Appeal. 

"  "We  have  been  married  with  our  left  hands,"  he 
stammered. 

His  best  man  reassured  him:  "Have  no  fear  of 
that,  my  son.  'Tis  the  usual  thing.  The  bride  al- 
ways stands  on  the  left,  but  your  right  hands  were 
duly  placed  within  each  other." 

"  Impossible ! " 

Worthy  Kvatopil  did  not  seem  to  know  which 
was  his  right  hand  and  which  was  his  left. 

On  the  way  home  the  happy  bride  and  bridegroom 
sat  together  in  a  little  coach. 

A  splendid  banquet  awaited  the  guests  in  Bessy's 
lodgings.     The  table  was  already  spread. 

When  the  happy  husband  had  conducted  his  dar- 
ling yoke-fellow  into  the  midst  of  us,  he,  without 
nore  ado,  flung  himself  on  the  sofa,  and,  hiding  his 


MARVELS  NOT  TO  BE  SEEN  FOR  MONEY    295 

face  in  the  palms  of  both  hands,  began  to  weep 
bitterly.  Such  a  wonder  as  that  is  surely  not  to  be 
seen  for  either  love  or  money  !  That  a  bridegroom 
should  weep  fit  to  break  his  heart  immediately  after 
the  marriage  ceremony,  and  bewail  the  loss  of  his 
bachelordom  in  floods  of  bitter  tears ! 

The  two  ladies,  however,  took  him  in  hand  be- 
tween them,  and  began  to  entreat  and  console  him, 
but  he  could  not  stifle  this  outburst  of  feeling.  The 
major  also  reassured  him  very  prettily :  "  Come, 
come,  my  dear  friend,  you  need  not  take  it  so 
tragically.  Look  at  me  now !  I've  been  through 
it  all !  Look  how  well  I  get  on  with  my  do- 
mestic dragon !  "  This,  however,  was  poor  balm 
to  him  in  his  great  affliction.  At  last  the  major 
fairly  lost  his  temper.  "A  thousand  Turkish  skulls ! 
"What's  this,  lieutenant?  Do  you  wish  to  regale  us 
with  a  specimen  of  the  higher  morality  ?  Bombs 
and  grenades !  Embrace  your  wife,  sir,  immedi- 
ately !  " 

Bessy  looked  at  me  as  if  she  were  on  the  point  of 
weeping.  I  pitied  her  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart. 

"  Mr.  Lieutenant,"  I  said,  "  have  you  ever  learnt 
English  ?  " 

The  newly-married  husband  was  amazed. 

"  Yes,"  said  he. 

"  From  OUendorf 's  grammar  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Do  you  recollect  exercise  No.  2 :  '  Why  does  the 


296  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

Captain  weep  ?  —  Because  the  Englishman  has  no 
hread.^ — "Well,  then,  let  us  give  the  Englishman  some 
bread." 

At  this  every  one  burst  out  laughing.  The  lieu- 
tenant also  laughed. 

And  so  this  scene  came  to  an  end.  "We  sat  down 
to  table,  and  amidst  the  merry  ring  of  glasses  we 
made  a  good  deal  of  fun  out  of  the  odd  and  mystical 
question  of  Ollendorf 's,  "  "Why  does  the  Captain 
weep?  "  and  the  still  more  curious  answer,  "  Because 
the  Englishman  has  no  bread." 

The  lieutenant's  frame  of  mind  remained  an  in- 
explicable enigma  to  me.  In  after  years  I  discovered 
its  true  solution. 

The  cause  of  his  weeping  was  altogether  different 
from  what  Ollendorf  had  supposed. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SOLDIEEINO 

npHE  idyll  did  not  last  very  long,  and  was  quietly 
-^      followed  by  the  epic. 

War  broke  out,  not  among  the  young  married 
folks,  but  among  the  European  Powers.  This  only 
so  far  concerned  my  ward  as  Kvatopil  was  also  mo- 
bilized ;  with  his  dragoon  regiment  he  went  towards 
the  eastern  frontier.  Bessy,  naturally,  went  with 
him. 

We  parted  abruptly.  They  both  came  to  me  to 
say  good-bye,  Kvatopil's  face  was  radiant  with  joy, 
and  the  reflection  of  it  was  visible  in  the  smiling 
face  of  the  lady.  There  will  be  war.  The  soldier's 
harvest  will  now  ripen. 

For  the  purpose  of  sending  her  her  quarterly  al- 
lowance it  was  absolutely  indispensable  that  I  should 
know  their  place  of  sojourning. 

"  Our  title  for  the  present  will  be — *  An  Ihre 
hochwohlgeboren  Frau  Oberlieutenantin  Elisabeth 
von  Kvatopil ! '  For  the  present,  I  say.  Later  on 
we  shall  no  doubt  advance  farther  and  TiigTiery 

"  Farther  towards  the  frontier,  and  higher  in  the 
scale  of  rank,  I  suppose?  "  said  I,  by  way  of  solving 
the  rebus. 


298  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

My  ward  (she  was  four  years  younger  than  I)  was 
very  pleased  with,  my  polite  elucidation,  and  the 
pair  of  them  parted  from  me  in  the  best  humour  in 
the  world. 

After  that  I  received  a  letter  from  my  ward  every 
week.  There  is  absolutely  nothing  in  the  most  in- 
tricately combined  knights'  moves  of  the  severest 
chess  problems  which  can  be  compared  with  their 
peripatetic  zigzagings.  Now  towards  the  south,  a 
week  afterwards  towards  the  west,  then  up  again 
towards  the  north,  retreating,  advancing,  then  back 
again ;  knocking  about  in  such  utterly  unknown 
hamlets,  that  one  could  only  discover  them  on  the 
best  charts  by  means  of  microscopes.  Finally,  the 
war  took  a  flying  leap  into  Wallachia  and  Moldavia, 
skipped  about  Jassy  and  Bucharest,  and  then  leaped 
across  and  all  along  the  Pruth,  and  at  last  settled 
down  in  Czemovicz,  till  it  had  to  move  on  farther 
to  Przemysl,  whence  again  it  happily  doubled  back 
by  way  of  Stry,  Munkacs,  Tokaj,  Miskolcz,  Kecske- 
met, and  through  Kalocsa  again  to  Buda-Pest. 

Bessy  accompanied  her  husband  everywhere.  All 
the  vicissitudes  of  the  seasons  which  naturally 
abounded  in  such  a  martial  pleasure  trip  she  patiently 
endured  with  him.  The  letters  which  she  sent  to 
me  during  this  period  would  make  a  very  interesting 
chapter  in  a  history  of  camp  life.  Opportunist  rea- 
sons restrain  me  from  making  them  public — they 
might  deter  our  young  persons  (I  allude,  of  course, 
to  the  female  sex)  from  following  Bessy's  example. 


SOLDIERING  d9» 

Often  and  often  I  thought  how  accurately  this 
young  woman  had  foretold  all  these  things  of  herself 
when  we  sat  beside  each  other  in  my  little  wooden 
hut  on  the  Comorn  islet.  In  a  straw-hut,  in  a 
cow-stall,  in  a  besieged  fortress,  in  a  bare  barrack,  in 
the  tent  of  an  itinerant  player,  at  the  bivouac  of  an 
out-camping  soldier — anywhere  and  everywhere,  it 
is  Love  that  makes  us  happy,  and  its  sweet  illusion 
can  conjure  up  fairy  palaces  out  of  these  wretched 
surroundings.  And  remember,  too,  that  an  officer 
in  the  field  is  by  no  means  an  amiable  husband. 
Plagued,  worried,  chicaned  by  his  official  superiors  ; 
flouted  by  the  weather ;  looking  at  the  enemy  with 
wolf's  eyes,  and  kept  back  from  falling  upon  him ; 
eternally  bickering  with  an  unfriendly  population ; 
a  guest  beheld  with  evil  eyes ;  and  his  wife  (if  he 
have  one)  like  an  iron  chain  hanging  to  his  neck — it 
requires  no  small  amount  of  love  on  the  lady's  part 
for  her  to  follow  him  everywhere,  and  put  up  with 
his  Hi-humour. 

And  she  had  prophesied  all  this  beforehand.  What 
was  to  be  the  end  of  it  all  ? 

But  there  had  been  no  advance  whatever  up  the 
ladder  of  rank.  My  last  letter  was  still  addressed 
to  a  lieutenant's  lady. 

When  the  great  universal  war  was  over,  which 
left  behind  it  so  much  bitter  disillusion,  Lieutenant 
Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  again  came  tapping  at  my  door. 

Clerk  Coloman  was  no  longer  with  me.  The 
D4libab  had  come  to  grief.     I  now  edited  the  Vasdr- 


900  EVES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

napi  Ujsdg,  in  the  place  of  the  publicly  advertised  and 
responsible  editor  Albert  Pakh,  who  was  lying  ill  at 
Graefenberg.  My  new  name  was  "  Kakas  Martin,"  * 
Eh,  what  a  popular  man  I  was  then  !  There  were 
Kakas  Martin  meerschaum  pipes  and  Kakas  Martin 
clays,  with  bowls  in  the  shape  of  cock-headed  men. 
I  really  was  in  the  mouth  of  the  nation  in  those 
days.     O  tempi  passati ! 

"  Ah !  'tis  you,  brother,  eh  ?  "  said  I. 

"  So  you  still  recognise  me,  then  ?  " 

I  must  admit  that  his  physiognomy  had  consider- 
ably changed.  During  the  campaign  the  officers 
were  permitted  to  grow  absolutely  counter- regula- 
tionary  beard-pieces.  Wenceslaus  was  now  bearded 
d,  la  Haynau,  that  is  to  say,  the  beard  was  shaved  so 
as  to  run  into  the  moustache,  till  the  two  seemed 
one,  which  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  formid- 
ability  of  the  whole  face.  But  a  still  more  notable 
correction  of  the  features  was  due  to  his  nose,  which 
had  grown  quite  red, — a  piece  of  ruby. 

He  began  by  laying  his  index  finger  on  the  bridge 
of  his  nose. 

"  Do  you  see  that  ?  My  sole  booty  from  the 
Russo-Turkish  war  is  this  red  nose.  Last  winter, 
while  we  were  encamping  on  the  Galician  frontier,  I 
happened  to  be  out  in  the  open  field  the  whole  of 
one  night,  and  got  in  the  way  of  a  villainous  Russian 
blast.  The  wind  drove  the  powdered  snow  into  my 
face,  and  each  flake  stung  me  like  a  red-hot  needle- 
*  Martin  Cock. 


SOLDIERING  801 

point.  I  was  not  even  able  to  turn  my  back  upon 
it.  In  the  morning  my  nose  was  just  as  you  see  it 
now.  That  same  week  twenty  of  my  men  were 
frozen  to  death  in  their  saddles,  half  of  my  regiment 
was  down  in  the  hospital  with  inflammation  of  the 
lungs,  scurvy,  and  hunger-typhus.  Of  my  whole 
squadron  I  only  brought  forty  men  home — and  this 
blood-red  nose  as  a  trophy." 

At  this  I  did  not  know  whether  to  condole  with  or 
congratulate  him. 

"  I  shouldn't  have  minded  so  much  if  only  we 
had  been  able  to  fight  with  some  one ;  but  to  go 
through  a  six-months'  campaign  without  having 
anything  else  to  do  with  one's  sword  than  lay  the 
flat  of  the  blade  about  the  shoulders  of  stubborn 
peasants  during  our  requisitions  for  hay,  that  I  do 
call  hard.  Sometimes  our  foreposts  were  so  close 
to  the  enemy  that  we  could  see  each  other's  breath, 
and  yet  we  were  not  allowed  to  attack.  At  one 
time  we  were  face  to  face  with  the  Turks,  at  another 
time  with  the  Muscovites.  It  would  have  been  all 
one  to  me  whom  I  pitched  into,  so  long  as  I  could 
pitch  into  some  one.  No  such  luck  !  Just  when  I 
was  fancying  that  now  we  really  were  going  to 
begin  the  battle,  the  order  came  again,  '  Sheathe 
your  swords!'  and  we  marched  somewhere  else.  I 
would  have  preferred  storming  trenches  with  cavalry 
to  this  sort  of  thing.  And  then  that  cursed  maize- 
bread  !  Nothing  but  maize-bread,  and  not  always 
enough  of  that.  Half-roasted  horse-flesh,  too! 
Thank  you  for  nothing  !  " 


302  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  But,  thank  Heaven,  it  is  all  over  now ! "  said 
I  encouragingly. 

"  It  is  over,  certainly.  But  what  have  I  gained 
by  it?" 

He  pointed  to  his  collar.  There  certainly  were 
only  two  stars  there  still. 

"  No  promotion.  I  am  just  where  I  was  before. 
And  yet  our  major  has  retired.  He  was  obliged  to 
go,  poor  fellow  ;  every  limb  was  full  of  rheumatism. 
Our  senior  captain  was  promoted  to  his  place,  our 
second  captain  into  the  first  captain's  place.  His 
place  is  now  empty.  I  am  the  senior  lieutenant, 
but  there's  not  a  word  said  about  me.  It  is  enough 
to  make  a  fellow  blow  his  brains  out ! " 

I  earnestly  begged  him  not  to  think  of  such  a 
thing.  He  had  other  duties.  With  such  an  amiable 
consort  too ! 

"  True,  brother !  She  really  is  an  angel.  I  dare 
not  think  what  that  woman  has  gone  through 
during  these  bitter  times.  She  was  with  me  every- 
where ;  but  for  her,  perhaps,  I  should  have  gone 
to  the  bad.  Ah,  my  friend,  you  don't  know  what 
bliss  it  is  when,  after  going  one's  rounds  through 
a  biting  snowstorm,  one  returns  to  one's  quarters 
to  find  there  an  angel  awaiting  you  with  a  bowl 
of  steaming-hot  punch." 

"  I  do  know,  for  I've  tried  it." 

"  The  punch  never  failed.  If  rum  was  to  be  had 
for  money,  she  got  it  from  somewhere.  I  have 
known  her,  sir,  get  into  her  sledge  and  drive  a  day's 


SOLDIERING  808 

Journey  into  town  to  get  rum  for  me.  A  diamond- 
hearted  woman,  I  say  !  And  then  her  love,  too ! 
Despite  this  ruby  nose  of  mine,  she  loves  me.  She 
says  it  suits  me  very  well.  Nay,  she  is  not  even 
hurt  at  remaining  simply  the  wife  of  a  senior  lieu- 
tenant. But  for  her  I  should  have  sent  a  bullet 
through  my  head  long  ago." 

I  tried  to  comfort  him  with  the  assurance  that  a 
senior  lieutenant  in  active  service  was  worth  ever 
so  much  more  in  the  world's  estimation  than  a 
general  on  the  retired  list. 

He  wound  up  by  inviting  me  to  have  a  glass  of 
punch  with  him  in  the  evening  as  soon  as  his 
lodgings  were  ready  to  receive  me. 

I  didn't  go. 

Frequently  did  he  invite  me,  by  letter  in  his 
wife's  name  even,  and  yet  I  never  went  to  drink 
punch  with  them.  When  we  met  together  after- 
wards, I  always  invented  some  excuse.  On  the 
first  occasion  I  said  my  head  ached  ;  on  the  second 
occasion  I  said  I  was  too  busy  ;  on  the  third  occasion 
unexpected  country  cousins  had  looked  in  upon  me, 
and  so  on. 

Every  time  I  met  him,  however,  friend  Wen- 
ceslaus  always  wound  up  with  the  bitter  exclama- 
tion :  "  I  shall  have  to  blow  my  brains  out.  Still 
no  promotion !" 

At  last  I  was  tired  of  telling  so  many  lies,  so  I 
told  my  friend  the  truth. 

Now,  there  are  three  sorts  of  truths  in  the  world. 


804  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

The  first  sort  of  truth  is  that  which  pleases  my 
friend,  but  doesn't  please  me. 

The  second  sort  of  truth  is  that  which  pleases 
me,  but  doesn't  please  my  friend. 

The  third  sort  of  truth  is  that  which  pleases 
neither  my  friend  nor  myself,  and  which  brings 
us  to  loggerheads  at  once.  Let  me  illustrate  what 
I  mean. 

To  take  number  one  first,  I  might  have  said  to 
friend  Kvatopil :  "  My  dear  comrade,  a  constitu- 
tional regime  prevails  in  my  house :  my  wife  reigns, 
but  I  am  responsible,  and  I  could  never  obtain  her 
majesty's  consent  to  a  bill  authorizing  me  to  go 
and  have  tea  once  a  week  with  your  pretty  wife." 

But  this  truth  I  did  not  tell  him. 

But  supposing  I  had  said  to  him  :  "  My  dear  lieu- 
tenant, I  move  in  a  completely  different  sphere  to 
you.  I  should  be  infinitely  honoured  by  your 
society,  but  I  should  not  know  what  to  talk  to  your 
colleagues  about,"  that  would  have  been  the  second 
sort  of  truth. 

But  I  did  not  tell  him  that. 

I  told  him  the  third  sort  of  truth.  I  said  ;  "  My 
dear  Kvatopil,  if  you  want  to  know  the  reason  why 
you  don't  get  promotion,  I'll  tell  you.  It  is  because 
you  are  so  friendly  with  me.  I  am  a  persona 
ingrata  in  the  eyes  of  the  authorities.  Only  yester- 
day the  police  paid  me  a  visit,  packed  up  every 
scrap  of  paper  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  and 
carried  it  off;  they  even  took  my  pictures  out  of 


SOLDIERING  906 

the  frames.  Tlien  Police-inspector  Prottman  came 
and  worried  me  for  half  a  day  by  asking  me  what  I 
knew  about  Kossuth's  proclamation  and  the  dollar 
notes.  If  you  keep "  on  visiting  me  and  writing  to 
me,  and  if  I  were  to  go  and  amuse  myself  among 
your  brother  officers,  they  would  think  it  gospel 
tnith  that  you  were  also  concerned  in  the  con- 
spiracy. Fortunately,  I  always  burn  your  letters  of 
invitation,  or  Prottman  would  now  be  engaged  in 
docketting  them." 

My  friend  was  startled. 

"  I  only  invited  you  to  a  glass  of  punch ! "  he 
cried. 

"  Punch  here  and  punch  there  !  The  police  would 
be  sure  to  read  it  ''  putsch  J  ^  And  look  ye,  comrade, 
to  be  perfectly  candid  with  you,  I  think  it  would 
be  better  for  you  if  you  left  off  all  this  punch- 
drinking,  for  'tis  that  which  makes  your  nose  so  red." 

Now  that  was  the  truth  which  pleased  neither  of 
us. 

"  You  think  so,  eh  ?  By  Jove,  you're  right !  It 
has  often  seemed  to  me  when  I  swallow  down  a 
glass  of  punch  as  if  my  nose  were  assuming  en- 
ormous dimensions  and  diffusing  a  radiance  aU 
about  me.  From  this  day  forth  I'll  drink  no  more 
punch.  My  word  upon  it!  What's  to-day? 
January  23rd  ?  Note  it  in  your  diary :  '  On 
January  23rd,  Lieutenant  "Wenceslaus  Kvatopil 
gave  me  his  word  of  honour  as  a  gentleman  that 
*  A  riot  or  sedition. 


306  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

he  would  never  drink  punch  again.' " — ^And  he  left 
me  no  peace  till  I  had  entered  it  in  my  diary. 

"Nay,  more  than  that,  no  kind  of  brandy,  or 
schnaps,  or  wine,  or  beer;  in  a  word,  no  sort  of 
spirituous  liquor  whatever." 

All  this  I  had  to  make  a  note  of. 

"  And  now  for  a  whole  year  and  a  day  we'll 
watch  the  result.  Nothing  else  now  but  pure 
water." 

For  a  whole  year  after  that  I  saw  nothing  of 
Kvatopil,  nor  did  I  hear  anything  of  Bessy. 

One  day,  however,  my  lieutenant  suddenly  in- 
vaded me  again;  he  was  still  the  wearer  of  two 
stars  only. 

"  Now,  if  it  isn't  really  enough  to  make  a  fellow 
blow  his  brains  out !  Again  they  have  passed  me 
over.  I  went  straight  to  the  Colonel.  '  Your 
Excellency,'  I  said,  '  here  have  I  been  in  the  service 
for  the  last  twelve  years.  I  have  faithfully  per- 
formed my  duties,  I  have  never  used  bad  language. 
I  know  the  regulations.  I  am  at  the  head  of  the 
riding  school — and  still  I  am  set  aside.  I  want  to 
know  what  objection  they  have  against  me.'  " 

"  Manly  conduct  on  your  part,  comrade,"  I  cried. 

"  And  do  you  know  what  answer  I  got  ?  You 
were  quite  right,  after  all." 

"  Your  suspicious  intimacy  with  me,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Oh  dear,  no !  Who  the  devil  cares  for  your 
chatter  about  the  police  ?  Not  you  it  is,  but  this 
red  nose !     Here  it  is  still,  and  it  stands  in  my  way." 


SOLDIERING  807 

Ajid  he  viciously  tugged  at  the  object  that  stood 
in  his  way  as  if  it  were  some  stubborn  remount. 

"  I  don't  understand," 

"  Then  I'll  make  you.  The  Colonel  replied  to 
my  interpellation  with  perfect  candour.  '  My  dear 
Kvatopil,'  said  he,  '  you  have  indeed  the  very  best 
good-conduct  report.  There's  but  one  fault  which 
weighs  heavily  in  the  scale  against  you :  you  are 
too  much  devoted  to  drink.'  '  What  ?  I  ?  Given 
to  drink  ?  Why,  for  more  than  a  year  I  have  been 
drinking  nothing  but  water.'  '  Impossible  ! '  cried 
the  Colonel — *  just  look  at  your  red  nose ! '  'I 
acquired  that  while  campaigning  out.'  The  Colonel 
shook  his  head  incredulously,  '  But  I  assure  your 
Excellency  that  I  am  speaking  the  truth,  I  have 
written  testimony  to  the  fact.'  '  Then  I  should 
very  much  like  to  see  it.'  So  that  is  why  I  have 
come  straight  to  you.  My  dear  friend,  I  adjure  you 
by  your  hope  of  heavenly  bliss,  if  you  love  me,  if 
you  ever  loved  Bessy,  if  you  would  save  the  life  of 
a  human  creature,  to  give  me  that  note-book  in 
which,  a  year  ago,  you  entered  the  vow  that  I  made 
on  my  honour  as  a  gentleman,  that  I  may  show  it 
to  the  Colonel." 

I  energetically  resisted  this  proposal. 

"  My  dear  friend,  all  sorts  of  ticklish  items  have 
been  entered  in  this  note-book  of  mine  which 
absolutely  cannot  be  read  by  anybody  but  myself." 

But  he  solemnly  assured  me  that  he  would  never 
while  he  was  alive  suffer  the  little  book  to  leave  his 


808  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

hands,  and  would  only  show  to  his  superior  that 
one  page  relating  to  his  solemn  engagement,  so  that 
at  last  I  was  obliged  to  submit  to  his  discretion. 
He  promised  to  return  in  an  hour's  time. 

And  he  kept  his  word.  In  an  hour  he  returned, 
gave  me  back  my  little  book,  embraced  me  and 
pressed  me  to  his  breast. 

"  My  friend,  you  have  made  me  a  happy  man. 
I  have  obtained  my  object.  His  Excellency,  on 
reading  the  oath  recorded  in  your  note-book,  laughed 
to  such  an  extent  that  I  could  count  at  least  four  of 
his  teeth  that  were  stopped  with  gold.  Great 
Heaven !  he  eats  gold  with  gold,  while  I  have  to 
gnaw  bones  with  bone !  When  he  had  somewhat 
recovered  from  his  outburst  of  hilarity,  he  smacked 
me  on  the  shoulder,  and  said :  '  Mr.  Lieutenant,  a 
great  injustice  has  been  done  you.  You  are  not  a 
drunkard.  There  has  been  a  mistake.  This  must 
be  seen  to.  And  I  promise  you  that  at  the  very 
first  vacancy  you  shall  obtain  your  third  star. ' " 

This  promise  raised  my  friend  into  the  seventh 
heaven  of  delight.  Hope  gave  him  back  the  desire 
of  life. 

This  now  is  the  speciality  of  a  soldier's  life.  "We 
poor  civilians  can  have  no  idea  of  the  joy  he  felt, 
especially  if  we  be  nothing  but  simple-minded 
authors.  For  an  author  has  only  one  star,  and  that 
is  high  above  his  head.  If  he  can  get  it,  he  may 
keep  it,  'tis  his.  If  he  cannot  get  it  himself,  nobody 
in  the  world  can  get  it  for  him. 


CHAPTER  XVn 

TEMPTATION 

r  1 1HE  most  beautiful  comet  I  ever  saw  was  the 
-■-  comet  of  1858.  It  was  visible  in  the  sky  for  a 
whole  fortnight,  from  October  1st  to  15th,  and  all 
the  time  the  weather  was  as  fine  as  could  be,  not  a 
cloud  in  the  sky.  And  meanwhile  the  comet  drew 
steadily  nearer  to  the  earth,  growing  bigger  and 
bigger,  and  in  shape  it  exactly  resembled  a  Turkish 
scimitar ;  at  last  it  was  quite  visible  in  broad  day- 
light. 

I  had  very  good  cause  for  remembering  this 
comet  so  well.  In  September  of  the  same  year 
I  was  seized  with  haemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  an 
alarming  symptom  in  a  young  man.  Our  doctor, 
Sebastian  Andrew  Kovacs  of  blessed  memory,  said 
that  it  was  not  medicine  that  I  wanted,  but  change 
of  air. 

I  submitted  to  his  directions,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  the  autumn  I  undertook  an  audacious  expedition 
— to  visit  the  Western  Carpathian  Alps  on  horse- 
back. Our  good  old  friend  Gabriel  Torok  (he  had 
been  a  Government  Commissioner  during  the  Revo- 
lution) and  his  two  sons  were  my  guides,  for  they 

809 


310  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

had  been  all  through  those  beautiful  regions  ^  be- 
fore. Five  to  six  hours  in  the  saddle  every  day  for 
a  fortnight,  through  pathless  forests,  up  and  down 
steep  rocky  precipices,  wading  through  streams  and 
mountain  torrents,  dancing  of  an  evening  at  the 
balls  frequently  given  in  our  honour,  in  the  big- 
heeled  boots  that  we  had  worn  on  horseback  during 
the  day,  gobbling  bacon  as  we  stopped  to  rest  on 
the  fresh  grass,  and  washing  it  down  with  a 
gurgling  drink  out  of  our  brandy-flasks — that  is 
what  I  call  a  radical  cure  for  inflammation  of  the 
lungs. 

It  cured  me,  anyhow. 

"With  my  suite,  which  gradually  swelled  into  ten 
strong,  I  visited  Bihar,  and  found  out  the  rocky 
grave  beneath  which  reposes  my  good  friend  Paul 
Vasvary,  who  died  such  a  heroic  death. ^  I  also  saw 
the  Hungarian  California,  the  gold-diggings  of 
Abrudbanya  and  Verespatak.  I  painted  that  mar- 
vellous basalt  hill  Detonata,  than  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  imagine  a  more  interesting  formation.  I 
was  in  Csetdtye  Mdri^  that  overwhelming  relic  of  the 
Roman  power,  a  gigantic  gold-producing  hiU  entirely 
hollowed  out  by  the  slavish  hands  of  a  subjugated 
race.  When  they  would  have  dug  still  deeper,  the 
top  of  the  scooped-out  mountain  fell  in  and  buried 
beneath  it    both  slaves   and    slave-holders.      And 

'  Jokai  has  immortalized  these  wonderful  landscapes  in 
Az  Erdelyi  ardny  Kora,  perhaps  his  best  descriptive  ro- 
mance. 

'  One  of  the  victims  of  the  Revolution. 


TEMPTATION  311 

there  it  stands  now,  a  gaping  chasm,  like  one  of  the 
circular  Mountains  of  the  Moon. 

Hove  to  look  back  on  this  delightful  tour;  and  the 
lovely  comet  accompanied  me  in  the  sky  all  the  time. 

The  result  of  my  journey  was  that  I  returned 
home  with  perfectly  healthy  lungs.  From  the 
comet,  moreover,  I  borrowed  the  idea  of  starting  a 
weekly  comic  paper  under  the  title  of  VsVokos}  And 
this  paper  gave  me  something  to  do  for  the  next 
fifteen  years.  During  all  that  time  it  had  great 
influence.  "With  a  preliminary  and  a  supplementary 
censureship  to  deal  with,  it  was  only  possible  to  say 
a  word  of  truth  or  a  word  of  encouragement  in  verse 
or  by  way  of  anecdote.  Sometimes  a  printer's  error 
served  our  turn  instead.  For  instance,  to  the 
question,  "  "What  shall  a  Hungarian  man  do  now  ?  " 
the  answer  was,  ''  Vdrjo?i  es  tiirjon  "  ("  "Wait  and 
suffer ") ;  but  by  a  printer's  error  the  "  tiirjon " 
became  "  tUrr  jon"  which  the  reader,  in  his  own 
mind,  would  read  as  "  Turrjon  "  ("  Let  Tiirr  come  "), 
and  associate  it  at  once  with  the  popular  ballad  sung 
from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other,  and  which 
begins,  "  Hoz  Tiirr  Pizta  puskdt!  "  ("  Pizta  Tiirr  he 
brings  his  musket  !  ") 

But  the  comet  had  another  signification  also. 

In  those  days  war  was  our  universal  prayer.  And 
the  following  year  actually  brought  it. 

Napoleon    III.'s    historical    new  year's    greeting 

settled  the  dread  destiny  of  the  year. 

*  This  comic  paper  still  exists,  but  M.  J6kai  is  no  longer 
its  editor. 


312  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

One  day  my  lieutenant  again  came  to  see  me ;  I 
was  still  his  guardian.     His  face  beamed  with  joy. 

"  God  be  with  you,  my  friend !  " 

It  was  a  strange  beginning. 

"I  suppose  you've  got  your  promotion  in  your 
pocket  ?  " 

"Not  that,  but  an  order  to  march.  Our  whole 
regiment  goes  to  Lombardy,  and  perhaps  even 
farther.  There  will  be  war  with  Italy,  but  pray 
don't  say  anything  about  it.     'Tis  a  State  secret." 

"  I  knew  it  long  ago," 

"From  whom?" 

"  From  the  Chief  of  the  Police  himself.  One  day 
he  summoned  before  him  all  the  newspaper  editors 
in  Buda-Pest  and  sternly  commanded  them  not  to 
write  a  single  letter  as  to  the  preparations  for  the 
impending  war.  And  thus  we  heard  all  about  the 
coming  campaign  from  the  very  best  authority." 

"Well,  they  certainly  might  have  acted  more 
discreetly  than  that." 

"  Where,  then,  shall  I  send  you  your  remittances 
in  the  immediate  future  ?  " 

"  Nowhere  at  all,  dear  friend.  Bessy  will  remain 
here.  Nobody  is  allowed  to  take  his  wife  with  him, 
not  even  the  Colonel ;  whilst  from  the  very  day  on 
which  the  war  begins  I  shall  receive  double  pay. 
So  give  the  money  to  Bessy." 

"  I'll  send  it  to  her." 

"  I  say  give  it  to  her.     Take  it  yourself  personally." 

"  I  am  much  obUged  for  your  confidence." 


TEMPTATION  813 

"  It  is  more  than  confidence.  I  wish  you,  while 
I  am  away,  to  go  and  see  her :  be  her  guest  every 
day,  and  make  yourself  quite  at  home." 

"  The  deuce !  Do  you  consider  me,  then,  one  of 
those  ninnies  to  whom  one  can  confide  a  pretty 
woman  a  Voutrance?" 

^^  Au  contraire!  I  am  convinced  of  the  contrary. 
I  know  that  in  such  matters  no  reliance  can  be 
placed  upon  mere  honour.  The  only  thing  a  man 
expects  from  his  worthy  comrades  is  discretion.  I 
am  well  informed  of  everything.  My  wife  has 
confessed  everything  to  me :  the  little  wooden  hut 
on  the  Comom  island,  and  then  the  visit  in  your 
private  room,  the  meeting  at  the  Pagan  Altar. 
.  .  .  .  He,  he,  he!  we  know  all  the  circum- 
stances quite  well !  " 

(It  was  an  unheard  of  case.  To  think  that  a 
pretty  woman  should  become  the  trumpet  of  her 
own  notoriety !) 

"But,  my  dear  comrade,  on  my  word  of  honour 

"Here  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  words  of 
honour.  You  were  in  love  with  her  once,  and  I 
need  have  no  further  fear  of  any  one  who  used  to 
love  Bessy.  Jupiter  was  the  chief  of  the  gods, 
and  had  the  loveliest  of  women  for  his  wife,  yet  he 
didn't  keep  the  ten  commandments.  'TwUl  be 
better  to  pour  pure  wine  into  our  glasses,  I  think." 

"  But,  I  repeat,  I  don't  want  to  pour  any  wine  at 
all  into  my  glass." 


314  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  Stuff  and  nonsense !  We  know  all  about  that. 
Bessy  makes  a  fool  of  every  man,  and  showers  con- 
tempt on  her  worshippers.  Of  you  alone  does  she 
always  speak  with  rapture.  Whenever  your  name 
is  mentioned  she  sighs  deeply,  and  says,  *Ah,  and 
I  might  have  been  his,  too ! '  " 

"  That  proves  all  the  more  that  our  relations  have 
been  purely  Platonic." 

"  Very  good  indeed !  What  I  like  about  you  best 
of  all  is  the  serious  face  with  which  you  are  always 
able  to  defend  your  point  of  view.  Another  man 
in  your  place  would  rejoice  at  his  good  fortune; 
you  nobly  deny  yourself.  You  will  compromise 
nobody.  You  have  that  advantage  over  all  my 
other  good  friends.  I  would  rather  entrust  her  to 
you  than  to  anybody." 

"  But  why  not  rather  trust  her  to  herself  ?  Foster 
within  her  the  sentiment  of  fidehty.  Write  to  her 
every  day  from  the  camp." 

"  Nay,  my  friend,  a  letter  won't  do.  I  can't  be 
always  scribbling  and  raving  to  her.  Bessy  is  not 
one  of  the  romantic  sort.  You  know  all  her  various 
temperaments  " 

"  Indeed,  I  know  nothing  of  the  sort." 

"  Well,  I  do  then.  I  know  that  the  moment  I've 
cast  my  right  foot  over  my  horse's  back  she  will  be 
unfaithful  to  me.  It  is  as  much  her  nature  to  be  so 
as  it  is  my  nature  to  fight  and  yours  to  write. 
When  I  can't  sit  on  horseback  I'm  ill,  when  you 
can't  write  a  romance  you're  ill,  and  when  a  pretty 


TEMPTATION  315 

woman  is  not  flirting  she  gets  the  migraine.  Your 
hand  upon  it  that  you  will  visit  my  Bessy  while  I 
am  far  away  and  comfort  her ! "  And  the  tears 
really  started  to  his  eyes. 

Now,  here  was  a  situation  which  is  not  to  be 
found  in  any  romance,  and  which  the  reader  will,  I 
know,  only  accept  as  true  under  protest.  A  soldier 
departing  for  the  wars  forcibly  compels  his  good 
friend  to  try  and  comfort  the  pretty  wife  he  leaves 
behind  him.  But  that  that  friend  should  kick  and 
struggle  with  all  his  might  against  such  a  mar- 
vellous piece  of  good  fortune  is  a  fact  which  I  am 
sure  I  shall  never  get  the  enlightened  public  to 
believe  anyhow. 

"  My  friend,"  said  Kvatopil  finally,  drying  the 
tears  from  his  eyes  and  violently  pressing  one  of  my 
hands  in  one  of  his,  "you  know  that  we  valiant 
horsemen,  dragoons  and  uhlans,  are  going  down  to 
Italy ;  the  hussars  have  gone  already.  The  volun- 
teers will  take  our  place  here  in  garrison-duty. 
During  our  absence  down  there  they  will  be  raging 
furiously  here.  If  I  thought  that  mine  would  be 
the  shame  to  see  my  place  here  taken  by  one  of 
those  red-braided,  chicory  hussars,  I  should  be 
capable  of  blowing  out  first  my  wife's  brains  and 
then  my  own.  Don't  allow  such  a  thing  to  happen. 
If  one  of  those  cockatoos  were  to  see  your  astrachan 
pelisse  with  the  large  chalcedon  buttons  of  yours 
hanging  up  in  my  ante-chamber,  he  would  be  scared 
into  flight  at  once." 


316  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

At  this  we  both  laughed  heartily. 

"We  took  leave  of  each  other  very  prettily. 
Kvatopil  with  the  fairest  hopes  followed  the  glorious 
career  which  promised  him  fame  and  promotion. 

The  whole  kingdom  waited  for  news  from  the  seat 
of  war  with  rapt  attention. 

Our  parting  had  taken  place  at  the  end  of  April. 
In  May,  the  official  newspapers  gave  us  a  brief 
account  of  the  battle  of  Montebello.  It  was  not  a 
regular  pitched  battle,  but  a  forced  reconnaissance 
by  the  Austrian  general  with  a  jumble  of  some 
12,000  men  of  all  arms.  Both  the  Austrians  and  the 
French  fought  bravely.  The  official  communiqiii 
did  not  give  further  details. 

I,  however,  through  the  kind  offices  of  a  courier 
sent  from  the  sea-t  of  war  to  the  Commandant  of 
Buda,  also  received  a  private  letter  from  the  field  of 
battle.     Kvatopil  wrote  thus : — 

"My  deak  Fkiend, — 

"  I  hasten  to  write  to  you  after  the  battle.  The 
whole  of  our  regiment  was  under  fire,  repulsed  the 
French  chasseurs  and  pursued  them  into  Montebello. 
/  received  a  slight  wound  in  the  forehead^  which  did 
notj  however^  prevent  my  further  fighting.  The  Com- 
mander-in-chief immediately  promoted  me  to  the  ranJc 
of  captain,  and  praised  my  valour  in  front  of  the 
regiment.  Make  known  the  joyous  news  to  my  dear 
voife.    I  am  not  able  to  write  to  her.    A  thousand  kisses 

to  the  pair  of  you. 

"  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil,  Captain." 


TEMPTATION  317 

But  there  was  a  postscript  also. 

"  P.S. — Show  this  letter  to  nobody,  and  don't  let 
it  out  of  your  hand.  Destroy  it  when  you  have 
read  it  through,  for,  if  it  were  discovered,  it  would 
bring  me  into  the  greatest  trouble,  as  it  is  absolutely 
forbidden  to  write  letters  from  the  camp.  That  is 
why  I  have  addressed  it  to  you  instead  of  to  my 
wife,  for  I  can  count  upon  your  discretion.  In  her 
triumph  she  would  show  the  letter  everywhere. 
But  you  burn  it.— W.  K." 

Now,  this  letter  made  it  my  positive  duty  to  visit 
Bessy,  for  I  could  only  tell  her  about  it  by  word  of 
mouth.  I  might  indeed  have  destroyed  Kvatopil's 
letter,  then  written  its  entire  purport  to  his  wife 
in  a  letter  of  my  own,  but  in  that  case  she  would 
certainly  have  carried  my  letter  from  pillar  to  post, 
and  the  mischief  would  have  been  the  same. 

If  I  went  to  her  in  broad  daylight,  every  one 
would  see  me.  I  could  not  go  incognito^  for  I  was 
as  well  known  as  a  bit  of  bad  money.  Besides 
that,  the  Hungarian  national  costume  was  in  fashion 
just  then.  Every  one  who  wore  it  might  expect  to 
have  his  name  bawled  after  him  in  the  street  for  a 
week  afterwards  at  the  very  least.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  I  were  to  go  to  Bessy  when  it  was  dark,  and 
they  were  lighting  the  gas-lamps,  that  would  only 
make  matters  worse. 

And  again,  it  would  be  an  inconceivable  absurdity 
not  to  suppose  that  one  or  other  of   Bessy's  fair 


318  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

neighbours  would  not  be  looking  out  of  the  windows 
of  the  house  opposite,  with  the  most  persistent 
curiosity,  to  see  who  was  going  in  at  the  gate.  And 
if  but  one  of  them  saw  me,  the  whole  theatre  would 
know  all  about  it  on  the  morrow. 

A  husband  with  a  conscience  (and  there  are  such 
husbands)  ought  in  such  cases  to  stand  before  his 
wife  with  a  demure  countenance,  and  say  to  her 
honestly  and  openly :  "  My  dear  angel,  I  am  obliged 
to  pay  a  disagreeable  visit  to  this  or  that  lady,  and  I 
don't  half  like  it ;  I  wish  you  would  come  too." 
Whereupon  the  wife  will  naturally  be  quite  mag- 
nanimous and  say :  "Go  along  by  yourself,  my 
dear  ;  you  know  that  I  am  not  a  bit  jealous." 

But  my  wife  happened,  just  then,  to  be  away 
acting  at  Szeged,  and  would  not  be  back  for  a  week. 
That  would  be  an  aggravating  circumstance  in  the 
case  of  a  visit. 

While  I  was  thus  debating  with  myself,  a  smart 
little  maid-servant  came  to  my  door.  She  had  a 
covered  market-basket  on  her  arm,  and  she  drew 
out  of  it  a  neatly-folded  little  billet-doux,  which  she 
placed  in  my  hand.  The  note  smelt  of  celery,  under 
which  it  had  been  put.  I  recognised  the  hand- 
writing of  the  address,  it  was  Bessy's.  I  opened 
and  read  it.  The  maid  stood  there  and  waited.  At 
last  she  grew  impatient  of  the  long  delay,  and  said : 
"  I  am  waiting  for  an  answer." 

"  Oh,  so  you're  still  there  ?     Stop  a  bit !  " 

I  read  the  letter  once  more. 


» 


TEMPTATION  319 

"My  dear  Guardian, 
"  Very  serious  business  makes  me  send  to  you. 
Come  and  see  me.  As  your  honoured  wife  is  now 
engaged  on  a  provincial  tour,  can't  j'^ou  come  and 
dine  with  me  to-day?  Wo  shall  be  all  by  our- 
selves. "  Bessy." 

Was  there  ever  an  odder  reason? — "its  ycmr 
honoured  wife  is  now  engaged  on  a  provincial  tour  "  ! 
No  doubt  she  found  that  out  in  the  Fovarosi  Lapoh} 
But  the  conclusion :  "  therefore  you  can  come  and 
dine  with  me  to-day  "  !  And  finally  :  "  We  shall  be 
all  by  ourselves  "  !  If  that  wasn't  a  temptation,  I 
don't  know  what  is. 

I  began  to  walk  up  and  down. 

The  maid  waited  to  see  if  I  was  going  to  count 
how  many  paces  it  was  from  the  window  to  the 
door.     At  last  she  grew  importunate. 

"  Is  there  any  answer,  please  ?  I  have  to  go  home 
and  cook  the  dinner." 

"  Ah,  yes,  of  course !  Greet  your  mistress  from 
me,  and  tell  her  that  I'll  come  and  see  her  in  the 
forenoon  to-morrow." 

"  But  I  want  to  know  whether  you  are  coming  to 
dinner,  that  I  may  arrange  my  cooking  accordingly." 

"  True  !     Then  say  I'll  come  to  dinner." 

In  Bessy's  house  the  custom  seemed  to  prevail 
for  the  mistress  to  dine  six  days  of  the  week  with 
Duke   Humphrey,   and   then  on    the  seventh,   her 

*  News  of  tlie  Capital,  a  popular  newspaper  of  the  period. 


320  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

at-home  day,  to  make  a  great  parade  before  her 
guests. 

I  was  now  running  into  the  very  centre  of  danger. 

I  could  not  possibly  back  out  of  this  engagement. 

"  A  serious  business,  eh  ?  "  I  know  it  was  serious 
enough  to  me. 

An  ideal  of  my  youth,  and  lovelier  now  than 
ever,  with  a  husband  of  her  own  too,  and  that 
husband  a  fine  manly  fellow.  So  far  from  being 
jealous,  he  had  openly  entrusted  me  with  the  conso- 
lation of  his  sorrowing  spouse.  And  I  am  the  last 
person  in  the  world  to  be  enrolled  in  the  Order  of 
Anchorites. 

I  candidly  admit  that  I  am  not  a  bit  better  than 
my  neighbours. 

So  I  tricked  myself  out  finely.  I  put  on  my  new 
coflPee-coloured  clothes  with  the  antique  buttons ;  I 
neatly  tied  my  embroidered  cravat ;  I  drew  on  my 
Kordofan-leather  boots  with  the  silver  spurs ;  I 
fastened  a  crane's  plume  in  my  new  spiral  hat. 

This  was  the  audacious  fashion  of  the  year,  and 
within  a  twelvemonth  this  costume  was  worn  in  the 
whole  kingdom.  And  after  that,  I  went  to  the 
barber's  and  he  twisted  my  thick  blonde  hair  into 
masterly  ringlets.  Aggravating  circumstances,  the 
whole  lot  of  them  ! 


CHAPTER  XVm 

A   COLD   DOUCHE 

"TTO'W  my  heart  beat  when  I  set  forth  on  my  ex- 
pedition ! 

On  the  way  from  my  dwelling  to  Bessy's  lodgings 
my  ill  fate  brought  me  face  to  face  with  all  the 
veteran  actresses  of  the  National  Theatre,  and  they 
all  stopped  me  and  asked  where  I  was  going.  They 
all  remarked  that  I  was  very  stylishly  got  up,  and 
they  all  shook  their  fingers  at  me,  and  said  :  "  Fie, 
fie !  you  straw-widower ! " 

The  devil  must  really  have  been  in  me  to  make  me 
take  the  trouble  to  have  my  hair  so  prettily  frizzled. 

I  was  just  about  to  dash  hastily  up  the  staircase  of 
Bessy's  dwelling,  when  whom  should  I  run  into  but 
Toni  Sagi.  It  only  needed  that.  He  came  from  the 
same  town  as  I  did,  was  a  common  friend  of  all  my 
friends,  and  was  about  as  reticent  of  news  as  a  town- 
crier. 

"  Your  servant,  friend !  Why,  you're  quite  a 
stranger,  I've  just  come  from  Bessy,  The  young 
lady  is  in  a  very  bad  humour.  She  as  good  as 
pitched  me  out  of  doors.  She  must  be  expecting 
some  one.     Perhaps  you  are  the  very  man,  eh  ?  " 

931  y 


322  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

It  was  all  up  with  me  now !  To-morrow  every 
newspaper  in  the  town  will  report  my  visit  here. 
For  "  quod  licet  6ori,  non  licet  Jove." 

If  I  were  to  turn  back  now,  it  would  only  make 
matters  worse. 

I  hastened  up  the  steps.  Bessy  lived  on  the  third 
floor.  ...  To  get  to  her  rooms  I  had  to  follow 
the  open  corridor  which  led  down  to  the  courtyard. 
I  passed  on  my  way  the  lodgings  of  a  milliner,  a 
female  pawnbroker,  and  a  lady  who  supplied  fami- 
lies with  servant-maids,  and  all  three  poked  their 
heads  out  of  their  windows  and  watched  me  dis- 
appear. 

On  reaching  Bessy's  number,  I  found,  tugging  at 
the  bell-rope,  a  red-peluched  young  coxcomb.  The 
door  was  about  a  fourth  part  open,  and  the  face  of 
the  vicious-looking  cook  was  protruding  out  of  it. 
She  dismissed  the  visitor  with  curt  ceremony. 

"  My  mistress  is  not  at  home !  " 

We  nearly  trod  each  other's  spurs  off  as  we  can- 
noned against  each  other  in  the  narrow  corridor. 

A  minute  afterwards  the  countenance  of  the  self- 
same cook,  rounded  into  complete  amiability,  again 
appeared,  and  she  said  to  me  : 

"  Would  you  do  us  the  honour  to  walk  in  ?  " 

And  she  held  the  door  wide  open  for  me. 

You  should  have  seen  the  face  which  my  red  fur- 
belowed  gentleman  made  at  this.  It  was  not  enough 
for  him  to  open  his  eyes  and  mouth  at  me  ;  he  stuck 
his  pince-nez  on  the  bridge  of  his  nose  as  well. 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  323 

That  will  mean  a  duel  for  me  to-morrow. 

Meantime,  however,  I  was  master  of  the  situation. 

I  had  to  go  through  the  kitchen  to  get  to  Bessy's 
room.  The  kitchen  was  also  the  ante-chamber ;  you 
hung  up  your  overcoat  there.  Her  cook  was  her 
only  servant,  parlour-maid,  chamber-maid,  every- 
thing. 

"  Would  you  kindly  walk  into  the  saloon  ?  "  urged 
the  servant. 

"But  announce  me  beforehand.    Here's  my  card." 

"  Beg  pardon,  but  I  can't  take  it ;  both  my  hands 
are  doughy."  (She  was  in  the  middle  of  kneading 
some  dough  cake  or  other  with  butter.)  "  Would 
you  kindly  put  your  card  between  my  teeth  ?  " 

Thus,  like  a  retriever,  she  carried  in  my  card  be- 
tween her  teeth.    A  moment  afterwards  she  cried : 

"  Come  in  now,  please !  " 

I  entered  the  room  which  the  servant  had  called  a 
saloon. 

Nobody  was  there.  I  looked  around  me.  I  found 
nothing  there  of  the  luxurious  splendour  which  had 
surrounded  the  young  lady  formerly  in  her  mother's 
house;  but  for  all  that  everything  was  neat  and 
pretty.  Embroideries,  a  music-stand  with  songs 
upon  it,  and  a  fiddle,  flower-pots,  a  cage  with  exotic 
birds,  Wallachian  Katrinczas,^  Szekler  pottery,  a 
few  handsomely  bound  books — all  these  were  so 
disposed  as  to  fill  the  mind  with  a  sense  of  refined 
elegance  combined  with  the  utmost  simplicity. 
>  Aprons, 


324  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

A  curtained  door  led  from  the  saloon  into  another 
room — possibly  a  bed-chamber. 

In  a  few  minutes  this  door  opened  juid  the  fair 
lady  fluttered  in. 

It  did  not  escape  my  attention  that  the  moment 
she  entered  she  turned  her  head  on  one  side,  and 
contracted  her  eyebrows  as  if  to  bid  some  one  else 
remaining  behind  there  to  keep  quiet.  The  moment- 
ary opening  of  the  door  also  permitted  me  to  see 
that  in  the  direction  in  which  she  had  looked  was  a 
tall  tester  bed  with  the  curtains  drawn  close. 

The  moment,  however,  that  she  had  shut  the  door 
behind  her  and  turned  towards  me,  the  face  of  the 
lovely  lady  became  all  amiability.  She  hastened  up 
to  me  and  pressed  my  hand. 

"  It  was  very  nice  of  you  to  come  and  see  me. 
Don't  be  angry  with  me  for  giving  you  the  trouble." 

The  lady  was  now  more  amiable  than  ever. 

She  was  in  the  simplest  stay-at-home  toilet.  The 
only  ornament  on  her  head  was  her  own  bright  silky 
hair,  twisted  up  into  a  knot  and  tied  at  the  top  with 
a  ribbon. 

She  looked  just  as  she  was  ten  years  before,  a 
little  girl  of  sixteen. 

Her  whole  being  recalled  to  me  her  childish  days. 
There  was  the  same  candid,  guileless  look ;  those 
open  eyes  through  which  you  could  read  into  her 
very  soul ;  the  same  artless  mouth. 

She  invited  me  to  sit  down.  She  took  my  hat  and 
laid  it  on  the  table. 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  325 

"  I  suppose  you'll  remain  to  dinner  ?  I  have  told 
the  cook  to  prepare  your  favourite  dish." 

"  Then  you  know  what  it  is  ?  " 

"  Why,  of  course  !  Beans  with  pig^s  ear.  Why, 
all  your  admirers  throughout  the  kingdom  know 
that." 

I  had  now  good  reason  to  be  proud  !  My  nation, 
then,  has  some  regard  for  me,  after  all.  To  others 
it  presents  bays,  to  me — beans} 

"  In  that  case  I'll  remain,"  I  said. 

"In  Kvatopil's  time  I  was  never  permitted  to 
cook  beans,  for  he  maintained  that  they  make  a  man 
stupid." 

"On  the  contrary.  Pythagoras  assures  us  that 
the  bean  contains  the  same  component  parts  as  the 
human  brain." 

Having  thus  rehabilitated  the  bean,  I  reverted  to 
the  real  motive  of  my  visit  there. 

"  I  should  have  come  to  visit  you  to-day  even 
without  a  special  invitation." 

"  Was  there  any  special  reason,  then,  why  I  should 
occupy  a  place  in  your  thoughts  ?  " 

"  I  have  received  a  letter  from  Italy,  the  contents 
of  which  will  greatly  interest  you." 

At  these  words  she  looked  at  me  as  coldly  as  if  she 
had  become  an  alabaster  statue. 

"  Interest  me  ?  " 

"  So  I  believe.     On  the  20th  instant  there  was  a 

*  In  Hungarian  the  resemblance  is  closer  still,  babo  mean- 
ing bean,  and  babir,  laurel. 


326  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

battle  on  the  Mincio,  at  which  your  husband  dis- 
tinguished himself." 

"Eeally?  "  said  the  lady  mechanically. 

("  Really  ?  "—In  that  tone  ?  It  was  rather  odd. 
However,  I  went  on.) 

"Nay,  in  the  heat  of  the  combat  he  was  even 
wounded." 

(I  calculated  surely  on  the  dramatic  eflfect  of  these 
words.  I  fancied  that  the  tender  spouse  would  leap 
to  her  feet,  pale,  ready  to  faint,  wringing  her  hands, 
till  at  last,  amidst  sobs,  the  name  of  the  adored 
husband  would  burst  forth  from  her  lips :  "  Oh !  my 
Wenceslaus !  Oh !  my  Kvatopil ! "  But  she  did  not 
so  much  as  turn  her  head  round.) 

"  Indeed  ?  "  she  said,  with  complete  sangfroid. 

Just  as  if  it  were  an  every-day  occurrence  for  a 
beloved  husband  to  be  wounded  in  battle. 

I  was  offended.  Such  ungrateful  indifference  I  had 
never  met  with  before.  How  was  I  to  go  on  ?  I  had 
calculated  that  when  the  despairing  consort  had  wept 
and  sobbed  her  fill,  I  should  hasten  to  console  her. 

"  It  is  true,"  said  I,  "  that  his  wound  is  not  suffi- 
ciently dangerous  to  prevent  him  from  continuing 
in  the  field." 

"  I  can  easily  believe  it,"  replied  the  lady,  with  a 
shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

Now  this  was  a  want  of  feeling  worthy  of  an  alli- 
gator !  Surely  she  had  the  nerves  of  a  rhinoceros ! 
I  was  not  prepared  for  this  reception.  "  I  can  easily 
believe  it !  "     Was  that  all  ? 


A  COLD  DOUCHE  327 

Well,  then,  if  our  tender  feelings  are  so  hermeti- 
cally sealed,  we  must  try  what  more  drastic  means 
will  do.  We  must  appeal  to  other  sentiments. 
Vanity,  for  instance,  is  a  sentiment  which  never  can 
be  blunted. 

So  I  moved  forward  my  heavy  artillery. 

"  Lieutenant  Kvatopil,"  I  said,  "  was  called  to  the 
front  and  made  a  captain  straight  off  for  heroic 
valour  in  the  field." 

But  even  at  this  the  lovely  lady  did  not  fling 
herself  on  my  neck.  She  did  not  even  utter  a  sound, 
but  contracted  the  corners  of  her  mouth.  What  did 
that  mean?  When  you  tell  a  lieutenant's  wife 
that  from  to-day  she  has  a  right  to  the  title  Mrs. 
Captain  ;  that  every  one  who  meets  her  in  the 
street  and  congratulates  her  will  address  her  as, 
"  Frau  Rittmeisterin,"  while  the  other  lieutenants' 
wives  naturally  bum  with  secret  envy ;  that  she 
may  now  print  her  corresponding  rank  on  her  visit- 
ing cards — when  you  tell  her  all  this,  and  even  then 
no  impression  is  produced,  and  the  cherry  lips  do 
not  expand  with  joy,  revealing  the  sparkling,  pearly 
teeth  and  the  dimples  on  the  sunbright  face ;  when, 
instead  of  that,  she  purses  up  her  mouth  so  nastily 
and  gives  herself  a  double  chin — what  are  you  to 
think  ?  There  is  nothing  so  hideous  as  a  pretty 
woman  with  a  double  chin.  A  double  chin  makes 
a  woman  look  absolutely  old. 

I  was  quite  confused.  What  am  I  to  do  to  amuse 
her  now  ?    Should  I  talk  about  the  weather  ? 


328  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  May  I  congratulate  you  ? "  I  said,  seizing  her 
hand. 

But  not  only  did  she  not  press  my  hand  in  return, 
as  she  ought  to  have  done;  on  the  contrary,  she 
irritably  drew  it  back  and  turned  aside  her  head. 

Suddenly  a  light  flashed  through  my  brain,  a 
light  kindled  by  my  immeasurable  self-conceit. 
"  "Why  go  on  praising  the  distant  husband,"  said  I 
to  myself,  "  when  you  yourself  are  present  ?  Do 
you  think  she  invited  you  to  dinner  to  sing  the 
praises  of  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  ?  " 

I  drew  my  chair  nearer  to  the  sofa  on  which 
Bessy  was  sitting,  and  airily  passed  my  hand  through 
my  frizzled  locks. 

Bessy  observed  the  movement,  and  quickly  turned 
her  face  towards  me.  A  mocking  smile  suddenly 
lighted  up  her  face,  a  smile  from  which  a  man  can 
read  a  whole  chapter  in  a  moment.  That  is  some- 
thing like  stenography. 

"  Ha,  ha,  sir !  then  we  have  come  thither  with 
that  thought,  have  we?  We  have  had  our  hair 
frizzled,  eh  ?  We  have  decked  ourselves  out  to  be 
irresistible,  I  know  ?  " 

A  thousand  mocking  fish-tailed  nixies  were  wrig- 
gling about  in  those  sea-hke  eyes. 

It  was  a  murderous  sort  of  smile. 

I  was  conscious  of  having  been  taken  down  pretty 
considerably.  Here  was  I  (quite  contrary  to  my 
usual  custom)  tricked  and  furbished  up  like  a  ^^ petit 
maitre^^^  while  she,  the   lady,  received  me  in   her 


A  COLD  DOUCHE  329 

simplest  barracan  house-dress,  without  any  finery, 
and  with  a  smile  she  discharged  at  me  the  saying 
of  the  great  poet : 

"  0  Vanity !  thy  name  is  woman ! " 

But  why,  then,  had  she  sent  for  me  ? 

"Why  had  she  driven  away  one  visitor  and  denied 
herself  to  another  if  not  for  my  sake  ? 

Perhaps  for  the  sake  of  a  third  party  who  had 
already  arrived  ?  "When  she  came  out  of  her  bou- 
doir she  seemed  to  me  to  be  signalling  with  her 
eyebrows  at  some  one. 

I  quickly  pulled  myself  together.  I  fancy  I  must 
have  been  very  red  in  the  face,  and  I  certainly  had 
good  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  myself. 

I  saw  that  I  had  not  been  able  to  reap  laurels  in 
the  role  of  Don  Juan,  so  I  began  to  take  up  the  part 
of  Tartuffe.     Let  us  play  the  righteous  judge  ! 

"  Perhaps  I  have  not  come  at  a  very  convenient 
time  ?  " 

"On  the  contrary,  1  asked  you  to  come  at  this 
time." 

"  On  a  serious  business,  eh  ?  " 

"  A  serious  business  for  me." 

"  But  isn't  what  I've  just  been  saying  to  you 
serious  ?  " 

"  Apparently." 

"  Yet  you  received  it  with  a  very  queer  face." 

"I  listened  seriously  enough." 

"But  the  affair  had  its  cheerful  aspect  also, 
Burely?" 


830  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

The  fair  dame  made  a  contemptuous  clicking  with 
her  tongue. 

"  Don't  you  feel  any  interest,  then,  in  Kvatopil's 
heroism,  wounds,  distinction,  and  promotion?  " 

"  No ! "  she  replied  resolutely,  almost  snapping 
my  sentence  in  two.  Her  eyes  sparkled  Hke  burn- 
ing naphtha  lakes. 

"No?"  I  repeated,  in  my  amazement.  "You 
take  no  interest  in  your  husband's  fate  whether  it 
be  bad  or  good  ?  You  feel  neither  hot  nor  cold  on 
the  subject  ?  " 

"No!" 

("  No  !  "  again). 

"  But  you  parted  in  the  greatest  affection  when 
he  went  to  the  wars  ?  " 

"  True." 

"  And  it  is  scarcely  a  month  since  then." 

"  Only  twenty-nine  days,  I've  counted  them." 

"  And  meanwhile  winter  has  come  ?  " 

"It  has." 

After  that  she  began  to  laugh  maliciously.  She 
leaped  to  her  feet  and  rumpled  my  frizzly  hair  with 
her  fingers. 

"  Let's  leave  the  matter  tiU  after  dinner ;  then 
I'll  tell  you  everything.  But  don't  let  us  spoil  a 
good  dinner  in  the  meantime.  You  are  quite  horri- 
fied at  me  now,  and  fancy  that  I've  laid  a  trap  for 
you.  You  will  see  later  on  that  this  serious  busi- 
ness of  mine  is  not  a  joke.  Let  us  leave  it  till  after 
the  black  coffee^" 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  331 

I  revived  again.  The  lady  was  capricious,  and  it 
suited  her. 

"  I  was  determined  to  give  you  a  good  dinner.  I 
owe  you  your  revenge.  It  is  a  long  time  since  we 
dined  together.  Last  time  I  was  your  guest.  Don't 
you  remember  ?  At  the  Pagan  Altar.  I  never  ate 
so  heartily.  What  splendid  toast  you  had  !  And 
the  bacon,  too,  broiled  on  a  stick !  Why,  I've  got 
the  taste  of  that  good  red  pepper  of  yours  in  my 
mouth  to  this  day  !  And  now  I  mean  to  give  you 
hospitality  that  you  will  remember  for  a  long  time  ! " 

This  again  was  delightfully  reassuring  !  She  was 
of  the  true  cat  species — she  purrs  and  fondles,  but 
one  must  be  continually  on  one's  guard  against  her 
claws. 

"  Come  now,  help  me  to  lay  the  table  !  My  cook 
has  enough  to  do  without  that." 

So  I  had  to  help  her  lay  the  table,  for  the  saloon 
was  the  dining-room  alsOc  One  had  only  to  remove 
the  books,  porcelain  vases,  and  china  knick-knacks 
from  the  table  in  front  of  the  sofa,  and  then  cover  it 
with  the  table-cloth. 

I  was  curious  to  see  how  many  she  would  lay  for. 
Only  for  two.  Two  plates,  two  knives,  forks  and 
spoons,  and  two  glasses. 

But  how  about  that  third  person,  that  person  in 
the  bedroom  yonder  ?  Or  had  I  rightly  interpreted 
that  peculiar  expression  of  hers  ?  I  was  beginning 
to  think  the  whole  thing  was  pure  hallucination  on 
my  part. 


332  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

Snddenly  the  scraping  of  a  cautionsly-moved  chair 
sounded  from  the  boudoir. 

I  saw  that  the  lady  was  considerably  put  out, 
and  felt  decidedly  uncomfortable.  She  wrathfully 
pressed  her  lips  together. 

"  Have  you  any  one  in  the  next  room  ? "  I  in- 
quired, in  a  stem,  judicial  voice. 

"  I  have !  "  she  replied  defiantly. 

"  Madame ! "  I  exclaimed,  in  virtuous  high  dud- 
geon. 

"Would  you  like  to  know  who  is  inside?"  she 
cried,  in  an  offended  tone. 

"  Oh,  dear,  no !  I'm  not  a  bit  curious,"  said  I,  and 
began  looking  about  for  my  hat  and  stick. 

"  But  I  wish  you  to  know,"  she  cried  indignantly, 
barring  my  way,  and,  seizing  my  hand,  she  led  me 
to  the  door  of  the  bedroom,  and  hastily  flung  it 
open.  In  the  room  a  blonde  young  lady  stood  be- 
fore me  gazing  at  me  with  wondering  large  blue  eyes. 

Bessy  introduced  this  lady  to  ma 

"  Madame  "Wenceslaus  Kvatopil,  from  Cracow." 

Then  she  pulled  aside  the  bed-curtains,  and  on  the 
bed  was  lying  a  little  girl  about  eleven  years  of  age. 

"This  is  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil's  daughter.  Poor 
things !  let  us  leave  them  alone  !  " 

For  at  least  a  minute  I  felt  as  if  some  magic 
power  were  whirling  me  round  and  round  the  globe 
with  it  from  the  North  Pole  to  the  Equator,  and 
back  again. 

How  I  got  out  of  that  room  into  the  other  I  really 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  333 

cannot  say.  Before  me  continually  were  the  faces 
of  that  large-eyed,  timid-looking  woman  and  the 
little  girl. 

I  heard  the  sound. of  weeping  behind  me. 

It  was  Bessy.  She  had  hidden  her  face  in  her 
hands,  and  was  sobbing. 

"Oh,  how  I  loved  that  man!  How  good,  how 
perfect  I  thought  him!  I  fancied  him  a  model 
man  !  Even  now  I  cannot  accuse  him.  It  was  not 
his  fault,  but  mine  alone.  His  sin  is  my  crime. 
Oh,  what  folly  !  Let  us  speak  of  the  situation  seri- 
ously. You  know  now,  I  suppose,  why  I  wanted  to 
see  you.     I  wished  to  ask  your  advice." 

I  sat  down  beside  her. 

Bessy  dried  her  eyes,  and  then  began  to  speak 
quite  soberly. 

"The  whole  world  judges  me  wrongly.  They 
fancy  I  am  full  of  levity.  But  if  anything  pains 
me,  the  pain  lasts  a  long,  long  time.  Since  he  went 
away  I  have  been  nowhere,  and  seen  nobody.  If 
any  of  my  old  acquaintances  came  to  see  me,  I  told 
them  that  the  whole  place  was  topsy-turvy,  and 
there  was  not  even  a  chair  to  sit  down  upon.  My 
servant  had  orders  to  say  to  every  one  who  called — 
with  one  exception — that  I  was  not  visible.  Who 
was  this  exception  ?  Yourself  !  She  could  easily 
guess  whom  I  meant,  and  if  she  didn't  guess  it,  it 
didn't  much  matter.  When  he  had  to  go  away  so 
suddenly,  he  was  in  a  very  tender  mood.  He 
wanted  to   make  me   swear  that  I   would   not   be 


334  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

faithless  wliile  lie  was  away.  He  even  brought  me 
a  crucifix  for  the  purpose,  and  when  he  saw  that  I 
laughed  at  him,  he  besought  me,  if  I  really  must 
deceive  him,  at  least  not  to  bestow  my  favours  upon 
the  first  ragamuffin  that  turned  up ;  nay,  he  even 
took  the  trouble  to  indicate  a  worthy  man  to  me,  of 
whom  he  could  not  be  jealous;  whereupon  I  told 
him,  very  seriously,  that  the  man  he  meant  was 
capable  of  Jcilling  anybody  who  stood  in  the  way  of 
his  love,  but  was  altogether  incapable  of  filching  love 
from  anybody  else !  " 

(At  this  my  face  grew  very  red  indeed.) 
"Then  he  suddenly  assumed  a  mystic  mood,  he 
knew  my  weak  side.  He  said  :  *  If  you  deceive  me 
for  the  sake  of  any  other  man,  at  that  same  moment 
I  shall  die.  Day  and  night  I  stand  where  death 
is  meted  out  every  instant,  and  the  moment  a  kiss 
from  your  lips  touches  the  lips  of  another  man,  at 
that  self-same  moment,  I  say,  the  bullet  which  is 
lying  in  wait  for  me  will  fly  straight  to  my  heart !  - 
A  horrible  saying !  It  would  not  let  me  sleep,  and 
rose  up  before  me  in  my  dreams.  "When  one  or 
other  of  my  lady  friends  came  to  visit  me  and  we 
fell  a-chatting  and  began  to  laugh  and  joke,  a  sort 
of  cold  shiver  would  suddenly  run  all  down  my 
body.  While  I  am  smiling,  I  thought,  perhaps  he 
is  dying  a  death  of  torments  beneath  the  horses' 
hoofs.  Every  savoury  morsel  sticks  in  my  throat 
when  I  think — perhaps  he  is  now  suffering  hunger 
and  thirst ;  and  when  the  blast  shakes  my  windows. 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  335 

I  think — now  he  is  standing  defenceless  amidst  the 
tempest  and  freezing.     And  I  unable  to  protect  him ! 

"  In  short,  this  threat  of  his  made  me  quite  a 
somnambulist.  At  last  I  denied  myself  even  to  my 
lady  friends.  I  became  quite  morbid.  I  fancied  I 
had  no  right  to  be  gay.  Ten  times  a  day  I  went 
to  the  crucifix  by  which  he  had  wished  me  to  swear 
and  knelt  down  before  it  to  pray.  I  made  all  sorts 
of  vows  provided  he  were  preserved  and  brought 
back  safely  to  me.  And  yet  I  am  a  Calvinist ! 
But  that  crucifix  was  his.  He  remained  faithful  to 
it  through  all  his  change  of  faith.  In  fact,  I  was  in 
a  fair  way  of  becoming  a  Pietist.  I  began  to  think 
a  life  of  virtue  very  beautiful.  I  should  very  much 
have  liked  to  see  you  now  and  again,  if  only  to 
show  you  that  I  could  be  just  as  moral  as  you.  1 
would  have  praised  your  wife  to  j^ou,  and  you  would 
have  returned  the  compliment  by  praising  my 
husband.     This  would  have  been  my  ambition." 

It  was  the  cook  who  interrupted  this  burst  of 
feeling. 

"  Shall  I  bring  in  the  stew,  madame?  " 

"  Yes,  bring  it  in,  if  it  is  ready." 

Then  she  turned  to  me  to  explain  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case. 

"  I  have  to  let  these  ladies  have  their  food  cooked 
separately,  for  Magyar  dishes  would  make  them 
mortally  ill.  That  is  why  I  don't  lay  the  table  for 
three.  Your  favourite  dishes  would  be  death  to 
these  Germans." 


336  EYES  LIKE    THE  SEA 

The  cook  now  brought  in  the  stewed  chicken. 

Bessy  tasted  it  first  with  a  little  spoon  to  see  if  it 
were  salted  enough,  and  also  to  see  whether  the 
cook  had  put  parsley  in  it  by  mistake,  for  the 
doctor  who  was  attending  the  little  girl  had  for- 
bidden every  sort  of  seasoning  ingredients  in  her 
food.  Then  she  herself  sliced  up  a  roll  of  the  best 
white  bread  for  the  little  girl,  poured  some  water 
for  her  into  a  glass,  and  warmed  it  a  little  by  hold- 
ing it  tightly  for  a  while  between  the  palms  of  her 
hands  instead  of  popping  a  live  coal  into  it,  as 
thoughtful  mothers  often  do  for  their  sick  children. 
For  the  mother  of  the  child,  however,  she  had  a 
bottle  of  Pilsener  beer  uncorked,  and  sent  to  her. 

Only  when  they  had  dined  was  our  dinner  served. 

Meanwhile,  we  did  not  resume  our  interrupted 
conversation  ;  the  servant  was  constantly  passing  in 
and  out,  and  we  could  not  speak  before  her.  Then, 
after  that,  when  we  sat  down  to  dinner  (and  a  bitter 
meal  it  was  to  me)  the  thread  of  our  conversation 
was  broken  as  often  as  the  cook  came  in  with  a  new 
dish  or  to  change  a  plate,  and  all  that  time  she 
played  the  part  of  the  amiable  hostess,  inviting  me 
to  fall  to  in  good  old  Hungarian  style. 

"  One  morning,"  she  said,  "  while  I  was  doing  my 
hair,  my  servant  came  and  told  me  that  a  shabby- 
looking  woman  was  outside,  with  a  biggish  girl, 
making  inquiries  about  the  lieutenant.  I  went  out 
to  them  into  the  kitchen.  I  saw  before  me  a  blonde, 
blue-eyed  woman,  of  about  the  same  age  as  myself, 


A  COLD  DOUCHE  837 

and  clinging  to  her  arm  was  a  lanky  slip  of  a  grow- 
ing girl  about  ten  or  eleven  years  of  age.  In  the 
woman's  hand  was  a  travelling-bag  and  an  umbrella. 
She  was  in  bourgeois  costume,  without  the  fashion- 
able crinoline,  and  on  her  head  was  a  simple  felt 
cap;  her  girl  was  dressed  in  just  the  same  way. 
They  both  wore  their  hair  quite  smooth  and  combed 
back  from  the  forehead. 

"  The  woman  wished  me  good-day  in  German. 

"  I  asked  her  what  she  wanted. 

"  The  woman  replied  that  she  wanted  her  hus- 
band, Mr.  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil. 

"  '  The  lieutenant  ?  ' 

"  *  When  he  left  me  he  was  only  a  lieuten- 
ant.' 

"  I  quickly  caught  her  by  the  hand  and  led  her 
out  of  the  kitchen  into  the  saloon.  My  servant, 
fortunately,  did  not  understand  German. 

"  I  led  them  right  into  my  bedroom.  I  invited 
them  both  to  be  seated. 

*' '  Ah,  that  will  do  us  good,'  said  the  woman,  *  for 
we  have  come  a  long  way.  We  have  come  here 
from  Cracow.' 

"  '  Surely  not  on  foot  ?  ' 

"  *  On  foot  all  the  way.  We  couldn't  afford  to 
come  by  rail.' 

"  Just  fancy  !  The  very  thought  is  terrible  !  To 
come  on  foot  all  those  hundred  miles  hither  from 
Cracow  with  a  growing  girl !  Can  one's  imagina- 
tion realize  such  a  thing  ? 


338  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

" '  Are  you  the  wife  of  Lieutenant  "Wenceslaus 
Kvatopil  ?  '  I  inquired  of  the  woman. 

" '  I  am,  and  this  is  his  daughter,  Marianna.' 

"  And  by  way  of  proving  her  assertion  she  drew 
from  her  travelling-bag  her  marriage  lines,  extracted 
from  the  registers  of  the  cathedral  of  Cracow,  to 
wit : — *  Bridegroom :  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil,  Sub- 
Lieutenant  in  the  ***  Dragoons.  Bride  :  Anna 
Dunkircher.  "Witnesses:  Babolescky,  Colonel,  and 
Kolmarscky,  shopkeeper.  Officiating  clergyman : 
Stanislaus  Lubousky.     Dated,  Feb.  16th,  1846.' 

"  Then  she  showed  me  the  baptismal  certificate  of 
the  daughter.  *  Marianna,  born  in  lawful  wedlock, 
June  19th,  1846.  Father :  Sub-Lieutenant  "Wences- 
laus Kvatopil.  Mother :  Anna  Dunkircher.  Officia- 
ting clergyman :  Stanislaus  Lubousky.  Godparents : 
the  above-mentioned  marriage-witnesses.' 

"A  marriage  contract,  duly  attested,  was  also 
among  the  documents." 

All  at  once  Bessy  burst  out  laughing. 

The  cook  came  in  and  brought  the  soup. 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  ha !  Do  you  know  why,  according  to 
Ollendorf,  the  Captain  weeps  ?  " 

"  Because  the  Englishman  has  no  bread." 

"  Look,  Susy,  you've  forgotten  to  give  my  guar- 
dian some  bread  !  Q-ive  him  a  crusty  bit,  he  likes 
that ! " 

The  servant  apologised,  but  said  that  she  didn't 
think  the  soup  required  bread. 

It  was  excellent  soup,  made  of  cream  and  eggs 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  889 

and  rice  and  finely-chopped  chicken.  Bessy  filled 
my  plate  with  it. 

"  Thank  you,  that  will  be  enough." 

When  the  servant  went  out  we  resumed  our  con- 
versation. And  here,  I  may  remark,  by  the  way, 
that  there  is  no  more  pleasant  tete-d-tete  in  the  world 
than  that  which  is  interrupted  every  ten  minutes 
or  so  by  the  incursions  of  the  servants. 

"Now  we  know,"  said  I,  "  what  was  the  cause 
of  the  extraordinary  phenomenon  of  a  happy  bride- 
groom beginning  to  sob  bitterly  immediately  after 
his  marriage.  It  was  his  deserted  wife  and  child 
that  the  poor  fellow  was  thinking  about." 

"  True,  but  don't  let  your  soup  cool  on  that 
account.    "Would  you  like  a  little  Parmesan  with  it  ?" 

"  Thank  you,  but  I  like  it  much  better  without." 

"  "Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  liked  his  icith  Parmesan." 

Then  we  settled  down  to  our  soup. 

"  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  always  had  a  second  serv- 
ing of  rice  soup." 

"  Thank  you,  but  I  never  take  a  second  serving 
of  any  dish." 

"  I  know  that,  and  I  also  know  that  it  is  your 
habit  to  leave  the  best  bit  at  the  side  of  your  plate." 

"  How  did  you  come  to  know  that  ?  " 

"  I  first  observed  it  when  I  was  a  little  girl  and 
you  sometimes  came  to  dine  with  us.  They  say 
that  it  is  a  species  of  superstition ;  the  tit-bit  placed 
at  the  side  of  the  plate  signifies  that  our  distant 
true  love  is  suffering  from  hunger." 


340  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  It  is  no  superstition,  but  a  simple  rule  of  health 
to  leave  off  eating  and  drinking  while  your  appetite 
is  still  at  its  best." 

Thus  we  continued  our  dietetic  discussions  as  if 
we  had  no  other  desire  in  the  world  than  to  live  a 
ripe  old  age  and  be  free  from  gout. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  there  was  chopped- 
up  chicken  in  the  soup,  and  that  portion  of  the 
chicken  fell  to  Bessy's  lot  which  is  known  as  the 
spur-bone. 

Now,  it  is  a  well-known  custom  among  young  un- 
married ladies  in  confidential  conclave,  when  one  of 
them  gets  such  a  spur-bone,  for  her  to  invite  her 
fair  colleague  to  crack  the  bone  with  her.  One  of 
them  then  takes  one  end  of  the  spur-bone  and  the 
other  takes  the  other  end,  and  they  pull  away  in 
different  directions  tQl  the  bone  comes  in  two. 
"Whichever  of  them  gets  the  spur  portion  will  be 
married  soonest.  That  is  a  fantastic  sort  of  super- 
stition, if  you  like. 

Bessy  laughed  and  said : 

"  "When  we  ate  our  first  dinner  together,  a  spur- 
bone  of  this  sort  fell  into  my  hands.  I  stretched  it 
out  towards  Anna.  '  Pull,'  I  said,  '  and  see  which 
of  us  is  to  have  Kvatopil.'  " 

"  Then  you  got  to  be  good  friends  pretty  quickly?" 

"  Why  shouldn't  we  ?  Hadn't  we  both  the  same 
husband  ?  I  naturally  kept  them  here  with  me. 
I  don't  know  what  would  have  become  of  them  if 
I  hadn't   taken   them  in.      At  this  moment  they 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  341 

haven't  got  a  farthing.  They  travelled  the  whole 
distance  on  coffee  only.  They  had  no  other  upper 
garments  but  what  they  were  actually  wearing  on 
their  bodies.  .  .  .  My  first  duty  was  to  get  them 
properly  dressed.  My  clothes  fitted  the  woman  very 
well,  and  I  bought  some  for  the  child  in  Kerepesi 
Street.  But  the  little  one  had  to  take  to  her  bed 
immediately,  for  she  had  a  bad  headache  and  was 
very  feverish.  I  sent  for  a  doctor,  and  he  gave 
her  some  medicine  which  sent  her  to  sleep.  She 
and  her  mother  have  slept  in  my  bed  ever  since, 
and  I  sleep  on  the  sofa. — Won't  you  have  a  little 
liver?" 

"  No,  thank  you.     Pray,  go  on !  " 

"  When  the  poor  lady  saw  that  I  received  her 
kindly,  her  heart  melted ;  she  fell  upon  my  neck, 
and  our  tears  flowed  like  spring  showers.  We  knew 
that  one  of  us  would  be  the  death  of  the  other, 
but  which  was  to  be  the  victim  ?  Then  we  quickly 
told  each  other  our  experiences  of  our  common 
husband,  and  how  we  first  met  him.  I  could  make 
a  strange  dramatic  scene  out  of  it. 

"  I  inquired :  *  Come  now,  Anna,  tell  me,  how  did 
you  first  meet  with  Kvatopil,  and  how  could  you 
remain  absent  from  him  for  thirteen  years  ? '  Anna 
replied  :  *  It  is  a  strange  story.  Do  you  happen  to 
know,  Bessy,  the  history  of  the  Cracow  Republic  ? ' 

"  I :  'No,  dear,  I  never  heard  of  the  poor  thing.' 

"  Anna  :  '  Then  you  must  know  that  it  is  a  large 
Polish  town  where  the  Polish  kings  were  formerly 


342  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

crowned  and  buried  when  they  died.  I  am  a  native 
of  that  city.  My  father  was  a  famous  glove-maker 
in  Cracow,  whose  goods  were  sold  far  and  wide. 
Our  town  was  the  last  free  Polish  Republic  when 
Poland  was  finally  partitioned.  Its  territory  con- 
sisted of  twenty-two  square  miles.'  " 
("  Less  than  Debreczin,"  I  interrupted.) 
Bessy  went  on  with  Anna's  narrative  : — 
" '  When  I  was  a  little  girl  ten  years  of  age  a 
fresh  Polish  insurrection  broke  out.  The  united 
forces  of  the  Austrians,  Russians,  and  Prussians  again 
put  it  down,  and  the  care  of  the  Cracow  Republic 
was  entrusted  to  Austria.  The  old  Polish  customs  and 
assemblies  remained  in  force,  but  Austrian  soldiers 
garrisoned  the  citadel  continually.  "When  I  was 
sixteen  years  old  my  mother  died,  and  I  had  to  take 
her  place  behind  the  counter.  Here  I  made  the 
acquaintance  of  KvatopU.  He  was  a  young  sub- 
lieutenant, and  he  generally  came  to  our  shop  to 
buy  his  gloves.  "Would  that  he  had  stopped  short 
at  gloves  !  Can  any  one  justly  give  a  bad  name  to 
a  young  girl  because  she  is  confiding  ?  I  believed 
in  him !  And  he  really  had  such  a  good  heart. 
"When  he  saw  that  I  had  only  to  choose  between 
shame  and  death,  he  went  to  my  father  and  begged 
for  my  hand.  Naturally  they*  gave  us  to  each 
other.  It  was  never  the  custom  among  the  Poles 
when  a  girl  married  a  soldier  for  her  to  go  and  ask 
permission  first  of  all  from  the  military  authorities, 
and  deposit  a  terribly  big  sum  by  way  of  caution- 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  843 

money ;  the  priest  simply  united  us  without  any 
questionings,  "We  had  not  been  man  and  wife  a 
week  when  the  Revohition  again  broke  out.  Crsi- 
cow  was  the  centre  of  the  Polish  rising.  At  first 
the  Polish  rebels  fought  with  great  success.  I  saw 
the  Polish  scythemen  drive  my  husband's  cavalry 
regiment  from  one  end  of  the  street  to  the  other. 
My  husband  had  not  even  time  to  say  good-bye  to 
me.' 

** '  Then  you  are  a  Pole  ? '  said  I. 

"  '  Why  shouldn't  I  be  ? '  replied  Anna.  '  Surely 
I  may  be  a  Pole  though  I  have  a  German  name  ? 
Dark  days  followed.  My  little  girl  was  bom. 
Twice  a  day  I  felt  bound  to  go  to  church — the  first 
time  to  pray  that  my  country  might  triumph,  and 
the  second  time  to  pray  that  my  husband  might 
return  to  me.  A  mad  idea,  wasn't  it  ?  Surely  it  is 
impossible  for  Deity  even  to  grant  two  diametrically 
opposite  prayers  at  the  same  time  ?  My  husband 
returned  indeed  to  Cracow,  but  the  Polish  cause 
was  crushed.  The  champions  of  freedom  fled  in  all 
directions,  and  the  garrison  troops  returned.  It  was 
a  sad  meeting.  After  that  catastrophe  Cracow 
ceased  to  be  a  republic,  and  was  incorporated  with 
the  Austrian  hereditary  possessions  as  a  simple  city. 
My  father  wept,  but  I  rejoiced  because  I  had  got 
my  husband  back.  But  very  soon  I  was  punished 
for  my  criminal  joy.  My  husband  informed  me 
that  things  were  going  badly  with  us.  Hitherto 
the  Austrian  officers  in  Cracow  had  not  been  wont 


344  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

to  ask  the  permission  of  their  general  to  marry. 
Now,  however,  when  Cracow  had  been  joined  to 
Austria,  the  military  regulations  of  the  rest  of 
the  empire  had  been  extended  to  us,  and  a  lieu- 
tenant's wife  had  to  pay  down  caution-money  to 
the  amount  of  7,000  florins.  My  father  was  in- 
capable of  raising  such  a  sum.  He  had  another 
daughter  besides  me,  and  could  not  withdraw  so 
large  a  sum  from  his  business.  Danger  threatened 
us  if  my  husband's  superiors  discovered  his  maniage, 
for  in  such  a  case  Kvatopil  would  have  been  de- 
graded to  the  ranks.  My  father  suggested  that 
Kvatopil  should  quit  the  profession  of  arms  and 
settle  down  to  some  sort  of  profession.  But  it  was 
an  impossible  idea.  Who  would  give  employment 
in  Cracow  to  an  Austrian  officer  who  had  taken  up 
arms  against  the  Poles  ? 

" '  Just  about  this  time,  too,  Kvatopil  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  senior  lieutenant.  This  at 
once  inflamed  our  hearts  with  the  joyous  hope  that 
he  would  rapidly  scale  the  ladder  of  promotion,  and 
we  knew  that  if  once  he  became  a  major  he  would 
not  have  to  deposit  his  matrimonial  caution-money, 
and  we  might  then  fearlessly  publish  the  fact  that 
we  were  man  and  wife.  Nobody  knew  of  it  hitherto 
except  our  friends  and  relations. 

"  *  So  we  agreed  to  keep  it  quiet,  and  immediately 
afterwards  Kvatopil  and  his  regiment  were  trans- 
ferred to  Hungary. 

"  *  Since  the  revolution  broke  out  in  Hungary  I 


A  COLD  DOUCHE  345 

have  heard  nothing  more  of  Kvatopil.  I  know  not 
where  he  is,  or  what  has  become  of  him,  or  whether 
he  is  alive  or  dead :  no  tidings  of  him  whatever. 
In  times  of  war  they  make  a  mystery  of  the 
whereabouts  of  this  or  that  regiment. 

" '  Once  we  read  from  a  bulletin  that  my  hus- 
band's regiment  had  taken  part  in  a  battle  in  the 
Banat.  My  poor  father  then  resolved  to  go  person- 
ally to  the  Banat  and  inquire  of  the  colonel  whether 
my  husband  was  still  alive.  Just  as  he  got  there, 
they  were  burying  the  colonel  with  great  pomp. 
He  had  died  of  typhus  fever.  He  had  been  the 
witness  of  our  marriage,  and  was  the  only  one  of 
the  officers  who  knew  anything  about  it.  He  had 
kept  his  secret  well,  for  his  officiating  as  a  witness 
at  an  irregular  ceremony  might  have  cost  him  his 
place  also.  All  that  the  lieutenant- colonel  could  tell 
us  of  Kvatopil  was,  that  his  company  had  been 
detached  on  some  expedition,  and  had  not  come 
back.  Possibly  the  Hungarian  insurgents  had  eaten 
them  all  up. 

"  *  I  could  thus  very  well  put  on  and  wear 
mourning,  and  till  the  end  of  the  war  I  heard  not 
a  word  about  my  husband.' 

"  So  far  spoke  Anna ;  but  now  I  began  to  speak. 

" '  You  didn't  hear  of  him,  because  all  through 
the  campaign  he  was  closely  invested  in  the  be- 
sieged Temesvar  with  his  company,  and  no  news 
could  come  out  of  that  place  till  the  end  of  the 
year.' 


346  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"'But  why  couldn't  lie  let  me  hear  from  him 
when  Temesvar  was  free  again  ?  He  could  at  least 
have  written  that  he  was  still  alive  ?  ' 

"  *  The  cause  of  that  is  easy  to  find.  So  far  as  he 
was  concerned,  the  whole  campaign  was  sterile  of 
glory.  As  a  cavalry  officer  he  was  unable  to  be 
of  any  service  to  the  besieged  city.  At  the  end  of 
the  campaign  he  still  remained  a  senior  lieutenant, 
whilst  all  the  others  had  reached  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain. Bitter  disappointment  was  all  that  remained 
to  him.  An  ofScer  who  is  passed  over  is  worse  off 
than  if  he  were  dead.  He  cannot  even  say,  "  Thank 
God,  I  am  still  alive !  "  ' 

"'But  subsequently?  In  all  these  latter  years? 
Why  didn't  he  write  to  me  all  these  three  or  four 
years,  if  but  a  line  to  say  that  he  was  still  alive  and 
thinking  of  me,  and  of  the  child  whom  he  loved 
so  much  ? ' 

'"I  can  tell  you  the  reason  of  that  also,'  I  said. 
*  To  save  a  frivolous  comrade,  he  got  into  debt,  and 
fell  into  the  hands  of  unmerciful  usurers,  who  im- 
mediately dragged  him  deeper  into  the  mire.  An 
officer  in  such  a  vexatious  position  is  certainly  not 
very  much  inclined  to  fetter  himself  with  a  wife 
and  child  as  well.  It  is  now  not  only  the  want  of 
the  caution-money  which  separates  him  from  you, 
but  also  that  nasty  bog  called  Debt.  This  bog  he 
cannot  wade  through.  If  under  such  circumstances 
he  thinks  of  his  wife  and  child,  that  only  increases 
his  despair.     If  he  wrote  you  a  letter  at  all,  it  would 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  347 

only  contain  these  lines :  "  By  the  time  you  read 
these  lines  I  shall  have  ceased  to  exist." ' 

"Anna  was  curious  to  know  how.  far  into  debt 
Kvatopil  had  actually  got.  I  immediately  men- 
tioned the  neat  little  sum  it  amounted  to. 

"  You  should  have  seen  what  a  long  face  my  friend 
pulled. 

"  She  asked  me  in  consternation  whether  this 
immense  load  of  debt  still  remained  upon  him. 

"  The  situation  was  so  droll  that,  despite  all  its 
bitterness,  I  couldn't  help  laughing.  I  could  read 
from  the  poor  simple  creature's  face  that  if  I  were  to 
say  to  her,  '  My  dear,  sweet  friend,  debt  is  the  one 
thing  in  this  earth  which  the  tooth  of  time  never 
nibbles,  Kvatopil's  bills  still  live '  (this  was  quite 
true,  but  they  were  living  in  my  strong  box),  she 
would  have  been  capable,  poor,  unhappy  lady!  of 
taking  her  little  girl  by  the  hand  and  walking  all 
the  way  back  to  Cracow.  But  I  was  sorry  for  the 
poor  thing.  I  told  her  the  pure  naked  truth.  Four 
years  long  her  husband  had  told  her  nothing  of  his 
goings  on  because  of  his  creditors,  but  after  that 
time  because  of  me.  I  made  his  acquaintance;  I 
did  not  know  that  he  was  married ;  I  fell  in  love 
with  him,  and — offered  him  my  hand.  I  was  bound 
to  acknowledge  that  he  had  hesitated  to  accept  it. 
He  made  aU  sorts  of  excuses  except  the  unexception- 
able one  that  he  had  a  wife  already.  But  as  he  was 
already  up  to  his  eyes  in  hot  water  he  had  had  no 
choice  but  to  blow  his  brains  out  or  commit  bigamy. 


348  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

Apparently  he  had  regarded  the  latter  alternative 
as  the  less  unpleasant  one. 

"  Anna  herself  admitted  that  it  was  very  much 
wiser  of  Kvatopil  to  have  chosen  the  latter  course. 
What  a  good,  affectionate  creature  the  woman 
was! 

"I  then  satisfied  her  that  I  had  paid  off  all 
worthy  Kvatopil's  debts  before  his  marriage.  I 
even  showed  her  the  bills  preserved  in  my  strong 
box,  explaining  to  her  besides  that  they  had  now 
expired,  but  that  I  did  not  mean  to  proceed  against 
Kvatopil  for  the  amount  in  spite  of  our  altered  rela- 
tions. At  this  the  good  soul  fell  down  at  my  feet, 
shedding  tears  of  gratitude.  She  even  kissed  my 
knees,  and  assured  me  that  she  would  bless  my 
memory  to  the  very  day  of  her  death.  Ever  since 
this  comforting  reassurance  on  my  part,  her  tender 
inclination  for  the  beloved  Kvatopil  was  perfectly 
re-established. 

"  I  put  the  finishing  touch  to  my  kind-heartedness 
by  describing  to  her  the  scene  when  Kvatopil,  as 
bridegroom,  fell  to  weeping  bitterly  after  the  wed- 
ding; there  could  be  no  doubt  that  those  bitter 
tears  were  shed  on  account  of  his  forsaken  wife 
and  daughter. 

"  This  quite  overcame  poor  Anna.  '  Look  now, 
what  a  good  heart  poor  Kvatopil  has  ! '  said  she. 

"  Then  we  began  quoting  to  each  other  the  various 
noble  traits  that  we  had  mutually  discovered  in 
Kvatopil's  character.     .    ,    . 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  349 

— "  Well,  did  you  find  the  pig's  ears  with  beans 
to  your  liking,  sir  ?  "  inquired  the  cook  of  me  at  that 
moment,  as  she  came  in  to  change  the  dishes. 

"  On  my  word  of  honour  as  a  poet,  I  have  never 
tasted  such  pig's  ears  and  beans,"  I  replied. 

An  apricot  pasty  followed,  of  which — I  confess  it 
freely — I  am  also  fond. 

Bessy  then  continued  her  story : — 

"  I  went  to  my  lawyer,  put  my  case  before  him, 
and  asked  him  what  he  advised  me  to  do  in  my 
situation.  I  applied  to  him  first  (a  drj'-,  prosaic  man, 
with  his  mental  vision  bounded  by  the  law) ;  after 
that,  I  wanted  to  lay  the  matter  before  you,  that 
you  might  judge  between  us." 

"  Between  whom  ?  " 

"Between  me  and  my  lawyer,  for  we  are  of 
diametrically  opposite  views  as  to  what  I  ought  to 
do  next." 

"  Then  you  have  a  view  on  the  subject,  too  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  have  ;  but  listen  first  to  the  view  of 
the  man  learned  in  the  law,  and  before  you  do  that, 
let  us  drink  to  the  health  of  those  we  love,  and  those 
who  love  us." 

We  drank  the  toast  accordingly,  but  we  mentioned 
no  names. 

"  And  now  listen  to  the  opinion  of  the  lawyer  : — 

"  '  It  is  a  great  misfortune,  certainly,'  he  said,  '  but 
the  only  person  to  suffer  will  be  Anna  Dunkircher. 
If  we  lived  in  ordinary  peaceful  times,  the  business 
might  be  settled   by  the  military  authorities  com- 


850  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

pelling  Lieutenant  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  to  renonnoe 
his  rank  by  marrying  contrary  to  the  regulations. 
In  that  case  the  marriage  contracted  with  Anna 
Dunkircher  would  remain  valid.  On  the  other  hand, 
according  to  the  tenor  of  the  Austrian  criminal  law, 
Mr.  Kvatopil  would  then  have  the  pleasant  prospect 
of  two  years'  imprisonment  for  the  subsequently 
committed  crime  of  bigamy.  Nevertheless,  under 
our  present  circumstances,  when  the  army  of  Lom- 
bardy  has  great  need  of  every  valiant  and  experi- 
enced officer,  the  Cracow  wife  would,  undoubtedly, 
get  this  answer  for  her  trouble :  "  Your  marriage 
has  been  contracted  illegally,  and  is  consequently 
null  aud  void."  The  parson  who  joined  them  would 
be  sent  for  a  twelvemonth  to  a  monastery,  by  way 
of  penitential  discipline ;  but  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil 
would  remain  a  lieutenant,  or  even,  if  he  distin- 
guished himself,  become  a  captain.  You,  conse- 
quently, will  be  Mrs.  Lieutenant,  and  perhaps  Mrs. 
Captain,  for  the  annulling  of  the  former  marriage 
will  restore  to  you  all  your  rights.' 

"  Those  were  the  lawyer's  words.  I  laid  them  to 
heart.  Now,  do  you  know  anything  of  martial 
law?" 

"  I  frankly  confess  that  martial  law  occupies  a 
most  prominent  place  among  those  sciences  which  I 
do  not  know." 

"  Well,  I'U  teU  you  what  1  replied  to  him.  *  Good ! ' 
I  said,  *  the  laws,  the  circumstances,  the  position  of 
things,   everything,   in  fact,  proves   and  proves  to 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  351 

demonstration  that  Anna  Dunkircher  has  forfeited 
all  her  marital  rights ;  but  has  not  the  law  of  the 
human  heart  also  its  validity  ?  Do  I  express  my- 
self in  proper  legal  phraseology  ?  '  " 

At  this  I  couldn't  help  laughing,  but  she  pro- 
ceeded with  her  story. 

"  My  lawyer  was  very  far  indeed  from  laughing. 
'  What ! '  said  he,  '  do  you  imagine  that  Wenceslaus 
Kvatopil's  heart  still  beats  for  his  first  wife  whom 
he  deserted — to  whom  he  did  not  write  of  set  pur- 
pose, not  even  when  he  could,  lest  he  might  thus 
have  supplied  some  written  testimony  to  the  fact  of 
her  really  having  been  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil's  lawful 
spouse,  and  not  merely  some  betrayed  girl  with 
whom  he  had,  at  some  time  or  other,  unlawfully 
cohabited  ?  Do  you  fancy  that  Wenceslaus  Kvato- 
pil,  thirteen  years  after  the  event,  is  still  so  romantic 
as  to  ask  for  his  dismissal  from  the  service  in  the 
middle  of  a  campaign,  on  the  very  field  of  battle, 
and  desert  the  standard  of  his  Sovereign,  whom  he 
has  sworn  to  obey,  simply  to  enable  Anna  Dunkir- 
cher to  save  her  matronly  dignity  ?  Do  you  fancy 
that  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  will  throw  up  his  career 
at  the  very  moment  when  it  is  full  of  the  most 
brilliant  hopes  for  him,  and  allow  himself  to  be  shut 
up  as  a  felon  for  a  couple  of  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  will  be  discharged  a  branded  beggar, 
simply  to  live  for  the  rest  of  his  life  as  the  lawful 
husband  of  a  beggar  woman  even  more  beggarly 
than  himself?     And  finally,  do  you  imagine  that 


352  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

Wenceslans  Kvatopil  has  so  completely  lost  the  use 
of  his  five  senses  as  to  be  capable  of  spuming  away 
from  him,  and  exposing  to  the  contempt  of  the 
whole  world,  a  young  and  lovely  consort  like  your- 
self, a  rich  and  noble  lady  who  can  keep  him  in 
comfort  for  the  rest  of  his  days — and  all  for  what  ? 
for  the  sake  of  taking  back  a  faded,  withered 
woman,  whose  face  is  wrinkled  with  care,  who  is 
the  daughter  of  an  honest  glover,  to  whom  it  would 
be  no  advantage  to  stick  the  name  of  Kvatopil  on 
his  sign-board  instead  of  the  time-honoured  firm  of 
Dunkircher?  No,  madam.  That  he  is  such  a 
good-hearted  man  as  all  that  I  do  not  for  one 
moment  believe.  I  would  as  soon  believe  in  sea- 
maidens with  finny  tails — upon  my  word  I  would.' 

"  I  did  not  interrupt  my  lawyer.  I  allowed  him 
to  have  his  say  out.  But  when  he  made  a  brief 
pause,  I  said  to  him  :  '  I  am  not  speaking  of  Kvato- 
pil's  heart,  but  of  my  own.' 

"  *  Your  own  ?  '  cried  he,  in  amazement.  '  What 
has  your  heart  got  to  do  with  it  ? ' 

"  *  I  have  my  own  notion  of  settling  this  painful 
business,'  I  said.  *  I  propose  to  transfer  to  Anna 
Dunkircher  the  surety-money  which  I  deposited  on 
the  occasion  of  our  marriage,  and  then  she  will  have 
satisfied  the  conditions  imposed  on  ofiicers  who 
marry — and  may  she  and  her  husband  be  happy.  I 
can  easily  disappear  somewhere  in  the  crowd.  The 
world  is  large.' 

"  At  this  the  lawyer  flew  into  a  passion.     '  If  you 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  853 

do  that,'  lie  cried,  *  you  are  only  fit  to  be  locked  up 
in  a  lunatic  asylum  at  Dobling.' 

"  Nevertheless,"  concluded  Bessy,  "  it  is  my  serious 
and  fixed  resolve  to  do  so." 

I  could  not  help  laying  my  hand  on  hers.  What 
true,  what  noble  sentiments  were  slumbering  in  that 
heart  !  If  only  she  had  had  some  one  to  awaken 
them !  What  an  excellent  lady  might  have  been 
made  out  of  this  woman,  if  she  had  only  met  with  a 
husband  who,  in  the  most  ordinary  acceptance  of 
the  word,  had  been  a  good  fellow,  as  is  really  the 
case  with  about  nine  men  out  of  every  ten.  Why 
should  she  have  always  managed  to  draw  the  un- 
lucky tenth  out  of  the  urn  of  destiny  ? 

She  guessed  my  thoughts  during  that  moment 
of  silence.  Those  large,  deep  fiery  eyes  slowly 
filled  with  tears.  The  fire  of  a  diamond  is  nothing 
to  be  compared  with  the  fiery  sparkle  of  those  tears. 
How  lovely  she  was  at  that  moment ! 

Her  lips  began  to  quiver,  and  she  could  scarcely 
pronounce  the  words : 

"  That  other  woman  had  a  child." 

And  at  this  she  began  to  sob  convulsively,  cover- 
ing her  face  with  one  hand,  and  squeezing  my  hand 
violently  with  the  other. 

My  heart  was  so  touched  that,  a  very  little  more, 
and  I  should  have  mingled  my  tears  with  hers. 

When  she  had  wept  out  her  bitter  mood,  she 
sighed  deeply,  and  dried  her  tears. 

"  Now  you  know  why  I  asked  you  to  come  here," 

A  A 


354  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

said  sHe.  "  Be  you  the  judge  in  this  matter. 
Which  is  right,  the  reason  or  the  heart  ?  Am  I 
to  do  what  my  lawyer  advises,  or  what  my  own 
feelings  suggest  ?  " 

It  was  a  difficult  matter. 

"  Let  us  see,"  I  said,  "  can't  we  hit  upon  some 
middle  course  ?  I  advise  you  neither  to  do  what 
your  lawyer  advises  nor  what  you  yourself  propose. 
Wait  a  bit.  The  great  war  is  still  going  on,  more 
than  a  million  of  warriors  are  standing  face  to  face. 
Not  a  fifth  part  of  that  number  will  return  to  their 
homes  when  the  war  is  over.  In  this  war  your 
Kvatopil  will  either  fall  or  remain  alive.  If  he 
falls,  you  can  both  go  into  mourning.  You  need 
not  quarrel  about  the  widow's  veil.  If,  however, 
Kvatopil  survives  the  end  of  the  war,  a  brave  and 
ambitious  officer  like  him  will  undoubtedly  have 
mounted  higher  on  the  ladder  of  promotion — the 
battle-field  is  the  forcing  house  of  advancement ! 
He  will  have  become  a  major,  and  as  major  he  will 
not  be  required  to  deposit^  any  matrimonial  caution- 
money.  He  can  then  take  his  Anna  Dunkircher, 
and  you  wUl  have  no  need  to  surrender  your 
guarantee  money,  which  you  want  very  much 
yourself." 

"  I  thank  you,"  said  the  lady.  "  'Tis  every  bit 
as  simple  as  the  Qgg  of  Columbus.  Then  we'll 
wait,  Anna  and  I,  tiU  the  war  is  over,  and  till  then 
we'll  make  one  family." 

*  I  say  this  of  past  times.— M.  J. 


A   COLD  DOUCHE  855 

"  Let  me  call  your  attention  to  one  thing,  how- 
ever. For  the  present  it  would  be  well  if  you  were 
to  hide  yourself  somewhere,  in  some  little  town,  for 
instance,  where  nobody  knows  you.  Here,  in  this 
capital,  you  will  quickly  find  yourself  in  an  awk- 
ward and  untenable  position.  The  story  of  the 
first  wife  will  very  quickly  be  known  by  all  the 
world.  The  title  of  straw-tcidow  would  do  pretty 
well  perhaps,  but  the  title  of  straw-wife  won't  do  at 
all.  Pack  up  your  traps,  I  say,  go  straight  off  to 
the  country  to-morrow,  and  take  your  guests  along 
with  you." 

"  rU  do  so." 

We  had  scarcely  finished  speaking  when  the 
doctor  knocked  at  the  door.  When  there's  sick- 
ness in  the  house  one  cannot  deny  oneself  to  the 
doctor.  The  doctor,  too,  was  an  old  acquaintance 
of  mine.  He  had  a  very  extensive  practice,  and  he 
was  a  homoeopathist.  I  could  take  it  as  absolutely 
certain  that  when  he  went  his  rounds  among  his 
patients  on  the  morrow,  he  would  let  them  have,  in 
addition  to  their  mix  vomica^  or  whatever  else  it 
might  be,  the  very  latest  bit  of  scandal — to  wit, 
that  he  had  found  me  closeted  with  the  pretty 
lady,  and  both  of  us  in  our  cups — tea-cups  of  course. 

I  waited  till  he  came  back  from  his  little  patient. 
He  satisfied  us  that  there  was  now  no  danger,  and 
she  might  leave  her  bed. 

Bessy  asked  whether  the  girl  might  be  taken  into 
the  country. 


356  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  Yes,  it  will  do  her  good." 

The  doctor  and  I  left  at  the  same  time. 

I  had  no  sooner  got  out  of  the  door  than  I  again 
stumbled  upon  Toni  Sagi. 

"  Corpo  di  Bacco  !  And  you  have  been  sitting 
all  this  time  with  that  pretty  young  lady  ?  " 

"  And  you  have  been  walking  all  the  time  in 
front  of  the  door,  eh  ?  " 

The  window  of  the  house  opposite  was  full  of 
inquisitive  female  faces.  I  rushed  into  a  coach  and 
had  myself  driven  to  the  railway  station.  The 
sftme  evening  I  was  at  Szeged.  There  I  remained 
for  three  days,  and  stayed  with  my  wife  till  her 
provincial  engagement  was  over.  On  every  one 
of  these  three  days  one  or  two  anonymous  letters 
reached  my  wife  from  Buda-Pest  of  the  following 
import:  "My  poor  dear  friend, — Your  husband 
passes  whole  nights  and  days  with  his  former  lady- 
love, the  lieutenant's  wife.  Our  hearts  bleed  for 
you.     The  whole  town  knows  all  about  it." 

How  we  did  laugh  at  these  letters  !  But  what  if 
I  had  not  traversed  the  intentions  of  our  dear 
friends  f 


CHAPTER  XIX 

-  EsAiAS  Medv^si  * 

TT  fared  with  Wenceslaus  Kvatopil  as  I  had 
-"-  predicted. 

I  am  very  sorry,  but  I  really  can't  help  it. 
Willingly  would  I  bring  him  back  a  full  major  if  it 
depended  on  me  ;  but  it  was  written  in  the  book  of 
fate  that  the  worthy  officer  was  to  end  his  heroic 
career  on  the  battle-field.  He  had  at  least  the 
consolation  of  falling  in  a  famous  battle.  While 
MacMahon  at  Solferino  broke  through  the  mass  of 
Schlick's  forces,  Benedek  on  the  right  wing  pressed 
victoriously  forwards  and  drove  the  Piedmontese 
army  under  Victor  Emmanuel  as  far  back  as  San 
Martino,  and  there  it  was  that  a  mortal  bullet  struck 
Captain  Kvatopil  through  the  heart.  Yet  I  am  able 
to  say  that  at  that  moment  the  kisses  of  his  lovely 
wife  pressed  the  lips  of  nobody  but  his  own  deserted 
daughter. 

The  two  widows  could  now  share  the  widow's 
veil  between  them  in  peace. 

The  bigamy  became  known,  but  of  course  they 
could  not  bring  an  action  for  it  against  a  dead  man. 
*  Bearish. 

8S7 


358  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

The  events  of  those  great  days  quickly  obliterated 
all  recollection  of  the  petty  scandal.  Both  Anna 
and  Bessy  could  now  assume  the  title  of  "Widow 
Kvatopil,  and  nobody  could  have  a  word  to  say 
against  it.  There  was  this  little  difference,  however, 
that  while  the  one  might  style  herself  Mrs.  Captain 
Kvatopil,  the  other  had  only  the  right  to  Mrs. 
Lieutenant. 

By  the  intervention  of  her  lawyer,  and  with  my 
consent  as  her  guardian,  Bessy  recovered  her 
deposited  caution-money.  One  thousand  florins  of 
it  she  gave  as  a  gift  to  Anna,  who  returned  with  it 
to  Cracow  to  her  father's.  The  rest  of  the  money 
Bessy  invested  in  a  pretty  little  house,  in  the  village 
where  she  was  stopping,  surrounded  by  a  pleasant 
garden.  I  was  now  quite  easy  in  my  mind  as  to  her 
subsequent  fate.  She  had  now  her  own  house,  an 
honourable  title — "  Ozvegy  Kapitduyne" ^  and  a  cer- 
tain regular  income.  In  the  little  village  where  she 
was  she  could  play  a  leading  part.  In  her  present 
situation,  moreover,  she  was  completely  protected 
against  all  the  snares  of  the  evil  world,  for  in  this 
particular  village  every  man  was  virtuous,  and  the 
women  ruled  them  with  a  rod  of  iron.  To  stumble, 
make  a  faux  pas,  and  fall  into  sin  was  not  possible, 
because  it  was  not  allowed. 

I  could  now  be  quite  easy  as  to  Bessy's  prospects. 
A  woman  who  had  learnt  such  bitter  experience  at 
her  own  cost  could  not  help  drawing  conclusions 
*  Lit.,  The  widowed  Captain's  lady. 


ESAIAS  MEDVtSI  359 

from  the  past;  and  if  ever  she  were  to  make  her 
choice  again  she  certainly  would  not  allow  herself  to 
be  led  astray  by  superficial  graces,  but  would  judge 
him  whom  she  might  definitely  and  finally  select  as 
the  partner  of  her  destiny  by  his  inner  worth  alone. 
I  even  took  the  trouble,  with  the  true  solicitude  of  a 
guardian,  to  write  this  beautiful  and  sensible  phrase 
to  her  in  a  letter.  I  also  impressed  upon  her  not  to 
give  herself  away  to  any  official  "  for  the  time  being," 
or  any  other  kind  of  dog-headed  Tartar,  for  such 
a  husband  could  only  be  provisional.^  She  gave  me 
her  word  that  she  would  not  do  so. 

For  nearly  four  years  I  heard  nothing  more  of 
Bessy.  She  had  fallen  into  the  ranks  of  those  women 
who  do  nothing  to  make  people  talk  about  them, 
and  this  category  is  the  best  of  all.  Every  year  I 
sent  her  the  interest  on  her  money  ;  she  acknow- 
ledged the  receipt  of  it  with  thanks,  and — that  was 
all. 

But  I,  too,  had  cause  enough  not  to  think  of  those 
lovely  but  dangerous  Eyes  like  the  Sea. 

My  evil  stars  were  in  the  ascendant. 

Not  a  year  passed  without  a  heavy  blow  descend- 
ing on  my  head.  At  one  time  it  was  a  dear  dead 
friend  whom  I  had  to  bury  ;  at  another  time  I  had 
to  go  through  a  severe  illness  which  brought  me  to 

>  Towards  this  period  it  was  plain  that  the  Austrian 
domination  of  Hungary  could  not  last  much  longer,  and  that 
the  foreign  officials  who  had  been  appointed  by  the  Vienna 
Court  must  speedily  go.— Tr. 


360  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

the  very  brink  of  death  ;  I  had  scarcely  recovered 
when  my  wife  also  fell  dangerously  iU.  Through 
the  conduct  of  persons  whom  I  had  regarded  as  my 
friends  I  very  nearly  became  bankrupt ;  I  had  to 
work  day  and  night  at  my  writing-table  to  draw 
myself  out  of  the  mire.  Then  my  publisher  bolted 
to  America ;  then  came  a  year  of  calamity,  when 
nobody  cared  a  fig  for  either  books  or  newspapers  ; 
then  I  had  to  fight  a  duel  through  no  fault  of  my 
own ;  and  all  along  there  was  the  wi-etched  fate  of 
my  country,  which  demanded  my  help.  The  whole 
plan  of  winning  back  our  confiscated  liberties  was 
my  secret ;  I  was  the  organ  of  the  Committee,  the 
organ  that  was  tormented,  persecuted,  insulted  by  a 
derisive  tyranny.  Life  under  such  conditions  was 
like  a  dreadful  dream — an  incoherent,  continually 
shifting  vision  of  hope,  an  eternal  nightmare ;  and 
when  I  awoke  from  this  nightmare  I  found  I  was 
quite  bald. 

One  fine  spring  the  Fairy  Queen  of  my  fantastic 
dreams  locked  me  up  in  prison  by  way  of  variation. 
Nobody  can  escape  his  fate.  I  had  founded  a  poli- 
tical journal.  I  was  its  responsible  editor  and  pub- 
lisher. My  assistants  were  the  votadores  of  the 
Liberal  party.  We  soon  had  a  large  public.  I  had 
quite  enough  to  do.  It  was  my  business  to  writ© 
romances  for  this  paper,  and  leading  articles  too. 
Once  an  admirably  elaborated  article  was  sent  to 
me,  signed  by  one  of  the  most  illustrious  names 
among  the  Hungarian  magnate  families.     Without 


ESAIAS  MEDVASI  361 

more  ado  I  published  it.  It  was  a  loyal,  patriotic 
article  on  purely  constitutional  lines,  showing  in  the 
most  matter  of  fact  way  in  the  world  the  justice  and 
the  necessity  of  a  constitutional  government  for 
Hungary.  On  account  of  this  article,  the  Governor 
brought  both  the  Count  who  wrote  it  and  the  editor 
who  inserted  it  before  a  court-martial.  He  signified 
to  the  pair  of  us  beforehand  that  he  meant  to  lock 
us  up  for  three  months  for  it. 

The  court-martial  consisted  of  a  colonel,  a  major, 
a  captain,  a  senior  and  a  junior  lieutenant,  a  ser- 
geant, a  corporal,  and  a  private ;  the  last  four  were 
Bohemians.  Before  this  Areopagus  I  delivered  a 
powerful  defence  in  German,  to  which  they  natu- 
rally replied  "  March !  "  The  tribunal  condemned 
me  and  my  comrade  the  Count  to  twelve  months 
hard  labour  in  irons,  on  bread  and  water,  with  en- 
forced fasting,  loss  of  nobility,  and  a  fine  of  a  thou- 
sand florins. 

When  the  sentence  was  read  out,  I  said  to  the 
President. 

"  This  is  very  strange.  The  Governor  promised 
us  only  three  months." 

To  this  the  President  replied  with  a  smile  : 

"  Yes,  three  months  for  the  inciiminated  article, 
but  nine  more  for  your  high-flying  defence." 

Our  sentence  was  for  no  offence  against  the  press- 
laws.  Oh  deaj",  no !  We  were  condemned  for  in- 
citing to  a  breach  of  the  peace.  The  Count  and  I 
had   been   throwing  stones    at    the    windows,  and 


362  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

breaking  the  gas-lamps  in  Kerepesi  Street !  It  was 
as  public  brawlers  tbat  we  were  sent  to  cool  our 
heels  in  jail ! 

The  reader  must  not  expect  me,  however,  to 
weave  a  martyr's  crown  for  myself,  or  describe  the 
tortures  of  the  Venetian  dungeons.  .  .  .  The 
whole  of  my  life  in  prison  was  a  pure  joke  and  diver- 
sion. The  Commandant  of  the  place,  with  whom  I 
lived,  used  to  come  every  day  to  tell  and  be  told 
anecdotes,  and  then  took  me  out  for  country  walks. 
He  had  my  writing-table,  my  books,  and  my  car- 
pentering tools  brought  into  my  dungeon,  and  it  was 
there  that  I  turned  out  a  bust  of  my  wife.  The 
Commandant  also  was  passionately  fond  of  car- 
penter's work,  so  we  worked  away  together  at  our 
lathes  as  if  for  a  wager.  There  was  no  talk  what- 
ever of  chains  or  fetters,  and  I  was  allowed  to  have 
with  my  bread  and  water  the  best  that  money  could 
purchase  from  the  inn.  In  the  afternoons  my  friends 
from  the  Pest  Club  came  to  play  cards  with  me,  so 
that  when,  on  one  occasion,  one  of  my  most  radical 
acquaintances,  Beniczky,  entered  my  apartment  and 
looked  around,  he  exclaimed  with  contemptuous  in- 
dignation :  "  Call  this  a  dungeon !  Why,  there's  no 
romance  at  all  about  this  sort  of  thing !  " 

Once  I  took  my  fellow-prisoner  and  my  jailer  to 
my  villa  at  Svabhegy,  where  my  wife  had  made 
ready  for  us  a  splendid  supper.  I  tapped  my  new 
wine,  and  we  amused  ourselves  to  such  a  very  late 
hour  that  when  we  returned  they  would  hardly  let 


ESAIAS  MEDV£:SI  363 

US  into  prison  again.  Fortunately  we  had  the  Pro- 
vost with  us,  and  with  our  assistance  he  managed 
to  force  his  way  in. 

And  then  my  visitors ! 

In  the  whole  course  of  my  life  I  never  received  so 
many  visitors  as  during  the  month  that  my  yearns 
captivity  lasted.  In  the  following  month,  by  the 
way,  I  had  to  make  room  for  the  editor  of  the  offi- 
cious government,  who  was  also  condemned  by  the 
court-martial  for  disturbing  the  public  peace. 

I  was  sought  out  in  my  dungeon  by  all  sorts  of 
good  friends,  who  came  from  far — lords  and  ladies, 
countesses  and  actresses.  It  happened  once  that  a 
magnate's  wife,  who  was  a  great  invalid,  and  there- 
fore could  not  ascend  to  the  second  flight  where  our 
prison  was,  begged  us  to  come  down  to  her  carriage, 
and  there  we  received  our  visitor  in  the  street — poor 
slaves  that  we  were  ! 

In  fact,  I  had  too  much  of  a  good  thing. 

How  could  I  work  when  my  admirers  were  crowd- 
ing at  my  latch  all  day  long  ?  At  last  I  had  to  beg 
my  jailer,  with  tears  in  my  eyes,  to  sentence  me  to 
solitary  confinement  for  a  couple  of  hours  every 
day,  and  write  on  my  door  the  hours  when  I  was 
free  to  receive  company.  "  Wasn't  I  in  prison  ?  "  I 
said. 

I  had  an  honest  Bohemian  lad  as  my  servant. 
His  name  was  "Wenceslaus.  We  soon  got  to  under- 
stand each  other  very  well. 

I  explained  to  him  that  at  certain  hours  when  I 


364  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

was  sitting  down  to  work  nobody  was  to  be  admit- 
ted— except  when  a  pretty  woman  came  to  see  me. 

Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense  t 

And  singularly  enough,  one  cannot  imagine  a 
more  convenient  place  for  an  assignation  than  such 
a  dungeon  as  mine.  I  only  wonder  that  our  hon- 
viv£urs  have  not  gi*asped  the  fact.  And  what  a 
capital  place  for  an  afternoon  nap  such  a  locality 
really  is !  The  best  advice  I  can  give  to  any  one 
who  suffers  from  sleeplessness  is — get  yourself'  locked 
up !  Is  it  not  a  special  mercy  of  Providence  that 
slaves  can  sleep  so  soundly  ? 

One  afternoon  Wenceslaus  aroused  me  from  my 
sweet  afternoon  nap  with  the  intimation  that  a 
pretty  woman  wanted  to  speak  to  me. 

"  Eeally  pretty  ?  " 

"Oh  yes!" 

"Oh  yes?" 

"  Oh  yes,  yes  !  " 

It  was  indeed  "  oh  yes ! "  for  it  was  Bessy. 

She  was  dressed  in  complete  mourning,  with  a 
black  silk  veil  over  her  head.  I  saw  from  her  eyes 
that  she  was  in  mourning  for  my  fate. 

I  anticipated  her  by  making  her  a  compliment. 

"  "Why,  how  nice  you  look,  my  dear  ward  !  The 
country  air  seems  to  agree  with  you." 

With  this  I  put  a  stop  to  her  tearful  anxiety  on 
my  account. 

"  I  see  that  the  air  of  a  dungeon  has  not  done  you 
much  harm,  either." 


ESAIAS  MEDV&Sl  865 

"And  how  did  you  get  in  here  ?  " 

*'  Not  very  easily,  I  can  tell  you.  They  would 
hardly  let  me  in.  They  said  that  the  prisoner  was 
confined  to  his  room.  I  thought  of  giving  the  war- 
der a  box  on  the  ears,  and  then  perhaps  they  would 
have  shut  me  up  along  with  you  by  way  of  punish- 
ment." 

"  That  would  have,  indeed,  been  a  heacy  chain  to 
bear." 

She  laughed. 

"I  understand  the  allusion.  My  figure  has  be- 
come a  little  sturdy,  I  know.  What  else  has  a  per- 
son to  do  in  a  little  country  town  but  grow  fat  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  sign  of  peace  of  mind,"  I  said. 

I  offered  her  my  arm-chair,  and  in  this  act  of 
politeness  she  read  another  allusion. 

"  It  has  good  strong  legs,  I  hope  ?  "  said  she,  as 
she  sat  down  in  it. 

I  must  candidly  admit  that  her  figure  had  grown 
pronouncedly  rotund,  but  this  by  no  means  in- 
jured her  beauty.  She  really  looked  quite  appetiz- 
ing !     I  was  very  glad,  too,  to  see  her  again. 

"Don't  take  my  remarks  amiss,"  I  said  ;  "  it  is  so 
good  for  the  poor  slave  when  a  smiling  lady's  face 
lights  up  the  gloom  of  his  dungeon.  A  sweet,  melo- 
dious woman's  voice  sounds  so  consolingly  amidst 
the  clanking  of  his  fetters." 

"  1  am  glad  to  see  that  you  preserve  your  good 
humour,  for  I  have  come  to  you  on  a  very  serious 
business." 


366  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  "What !  Then  it  was  7iot  tender  sympathy  for 
the  poor  captive  that  brought  you  hither  ?  " 

"  That  also — I  may  even  say  principally.  Every 
day  I  read  in  the  Fovdrosi  Lapok  how  many  and 
what  sort  of  visitors  you  receive — noble  ladies, 
pretty  actresses,  and  what  not.  Well,  thought  I,  if 
they  may  go  and  see  him,  it  is  only  my  duty  to  go 
too.  At  the  same  time  there  are  other  circumstances 
which  have  brought  me  here," 

At  this  she  furtively  looked  around  her. 

"  Won't  they  hear  what  we  are  talking  about 
through  that  door  ?  " 

"  Have  no  fear.  That  room  is  empty.  My  fellow- 
prisoner  is  provided  with  a  separate  apartment." 

"I  have  come  to  inform  you  of  something.  I 
have  petitioned  the  office  of  wards  to  relieve  you 
from  your  guardianship." 

"  And  you've  very  good  cause,  too,  I  think,  seeing 
that  I  myself  have  been  under  guardianship  for 
some  time." 

"  That's  not  my  reason,  however.  But  my  posi- 
tion has  now  become  such  as  to  make  it  indispen- 
sable for  me  to  have  the  free  disposal  of  my 
money." 

"  May  I  guess  the  cause  ?  Another  misfortune  has 
happened.    We  have  lost  our  heart  again,  eh  ?  " 

Bessy  covered  her  blushing  face  with  her  silk 
veil. 

"  Eh,  but  how  you  do  always  detect  a  thing  at 
once !    You  would  have  made  a  capital  magistrate." 


ESAIAS  MEDV^SI  S67 

''  But  it  is  such  a  natural  thing  to  suppose.  You 
are  so  young,  you  know." 

"  I  am  well  advanced  in  the  thirties." 

"You  are  only  four  years  over  thirty.  I  oughb 
to  know,  for  I  was  at  your  christening.  Then  you 
have  once  more  discovered  your  ideal  ?  " 

"  This  time  I  most  sol^^nnly  believe  that  I  really 
have  found  him." 

"  But  no  provisional  person,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  Don't  insult  me,  please." 

"  I'm  above  such  a  thing.  But,  as  your  guardian, 
I  would  not  have  given  my  consent  to  it ;  so  I  was 
bound  to  suppose  that  that  was  why  you  wanted  to 
be  freed  from  m^'^  guardianship." 

"  Not  at  all !  In  future  also  I  mean  to  take  your 
advice  as  though  it  came  from  my  own  father. 
Scold  me  as  much  as  you  like  when  you  catch  me 
tripping,  I  will  continue  to  be  your  obedient  ward 
if  only  you  don't  shut  the  door  in  my  face.  All  I 
want  is  my  money.  Believe  me  when  I  say  I  will 
do  nothing  frivolous  with  it.  The  sum  will  remain 
to  my  credit,  but  I  wish  to  be  free  to  use  it  as  I  like 
in  the  future." 

"1  presume  your  bridegroom  is  some  squire  to 
whom  the  amount  will  be  of  service?  " 

"  He  is  not  a  squire." 

"Then  perhaps  he  is  a  merchant?  That  also  is 
an  honourable  walk  in  life.  In  good  commercial 
hands  the  amount  will  yield  a  nice  income." 

"  He  is  not  a  merchant." 


368  EVES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  Then  perhaps  he  is  a  manufacturer,  the  pro- 
prietor of  a  saw-mill  or  a  steam-mill  ?  " 

"  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other."   . 

"  Then  what  on  earth  is  he  ?  " 

"  My  bridegroom  is  a  worthy  and  eminent  school- 
master, whose  name  is  Esaias  Medvesi." 

"  Esaias  Medvesi !  But .  what  the  deuce  does  a 
village  schoolmaster  want  with  twenty-five  thou- 
sand florins  ?  " 

"I'll  tell  you  presently.  But  I  must  go  a  little 
farther  back  first.  Have  you  the  time  to  listen  to 
my  story  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  have :  I  remain  at  home  all  day." 

"  Will  nobody  interrupt  us  ?  " 

"  My  servant  is  a  very  sensible  fellow,  he  knows 
the  rules  of  the  place." 

"But  won't  they  lock  the  door  of  the  prison 
behind  me  ?  " 

An  ordinary  person  would  have  replied  to  this 
question  that  it  would  have  been  no  great  harm  if 
they  did ;  but  I  pulled  out  the  drawer  of  my  writing- 
table  and  showed  the  fair  lady  that  I  had  my  own 
key  for  opening  my  prison  door.  At  this  she  laughed 
and  seemed  quite  satisfied. 

"  "Well,  I'll  begin  by  telling  you  how  I  made  his 
acquaintance." 

"  What,  your  Ezzy  ?  " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  but  you  must  always  pro- 
nounce the  name  in  full,  or  you  will  aggravate  its 
owner.    He  is  very  particular  about  giving  to  every 


ESAIAS  MEDV^SI  869 

one  his  full  name  and  corresponding  titles ;  never 
breaks  that  rule  himself,  and  constantly  addresses 
me  as  *  Worthy  dame  Captain ! '  It  is  in  vain  to 
call  me  '  Madame '  in  his  presence,  for  he  roundly 
maintains  that  such  a  title  belongs  to  the  consort 
of  the  Prince  of  Transylvania  only.  His  motto  is 
'  suura  cuique.^  Oh,  I've  learnt  such  a  lot  of  Latin 
since  I  made  his  acquaintance  ?  " 

"  Oh,  then  you  have  been  taking  Latin  lessons 
from  him,  and  so  the  acquaintance  began  ?  " 

"  No  irony,  please !  It  didn't  begin  that  way  at 
all.  I  suppose  you  know  that  in  our  little  town 
there  is  a  very  well  attended  Calvinist  church  ?  " 

"  I  know  it  pretty  well." 

"  And  I  am  a  very  zealous  church  goer  ?  " 

"  That  I  did  not  know." 

"  With  us  the  laudable  custom  prevails  of  going  to 
church  every  Sunday  for  the  purpose  of  devotion." 

"  And  to  show  oflf  your  new  bonnets." 

"Don't  make  fun  of  me,  please.  Esaias  is  not 
only  the  schoolmaster,  but  the  cantor  and  the 
organist  as  well.  He  has  a  splendid  bass  voice. 
When  he  intones  the  verse — 

'  How  blest  the  man  whose  walk  in  life     ,    .    ,' 
the  whole  podium  trembles.   It  was  that  wondrously 
beautiful  voice  which  first  enthralled  me." 

"  But  I  should  have  thought  that  the  organ  would 
have  drowned  the  sound  of  the  hymn  ?  " 

"  But  not  only  in  church  have  I  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  hearing  him,  but  at  funerals  also." 

BB 


370  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  Then  you  condescend  to  go  to  funerals  too  ?  " 

"  Not  as  a  habit.  But  you  must  know  that  most 
of  the  people  there  beg  me  to  act  as  sponsor  to  their 
new-born  children.  Now,  two-thirds  of  our  children 
seem  only  born  to  die,  and  I  am  obliged  to  always 
go  to  the  funerals  of  my  little  proUgis." 

"  Then  Esaias  is  in  the  habit  of  speaking  and 
singing  over  them  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  what  beautiful  speeches  they  are  too, 
all  in  verse." 

"  So  Esaias  is  a  poet  into  the  bargain  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  really  makes  most  beautiful  verses." 

"  And  I've  no  doubt  he  wrote  a  nice  onomasticon 
onSb.  Elizabeth's  Day?" 

"  He  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  He's  not  that  sort 
of  man.  It  is  not  his  habit  to  flatter  anybody ;  on 
the  contrary,  he  always  tells  them  the  truth  to  their 
faces." 

"  That  is  generally  the  distinguishing  character- 
istic of  all  Calvinist  schoolmasters." 

"Well,  but  let  us  keep  to  the  point.  I  left  oflf 
at  the  funerals,  I  think.  I  was  struck  by  the  fre- 
quent mortality  among  our  little  ones,  and  set  in 
movement  a  project  among  the  ladies  of  the  town 
for  starting  a  creche.  The  idea  found  zealous  parti- 
sans. We  soon  found  a  large  meeting-room  ;  the 
ladies  supplied  linen  in  large  quantities ;  milk  and 
other  necessary  aliments  were  provided  by  public 
subscription ;  money  we  resolved  to  collect  in  the 
usual  way." 


ESAIAS  MEDVi,SI  371 

"  By  a  charitable  concert  ?  " 

"I  see  tliat  you  are  a  practical  man.  A  charitable 
concert  was  indeed  arranged,  and  a  committee  of 
seven  appointed  to  manage  it.  The  sessions  of  this 
committee  were  held  in  my  house ;  mine  was  the 
most  convenient  locality,  and  I  had  a  piano  besides. 
Each  member  of  the  committee  had  her  part 
assigned  to  her :  one  was  to  recite,  another  to  sing 
a  solo,  a  third  to  give  a  comic  reading,  a  fourth  to 
play  a  piece  on  the  piano,  a  fifth  to  dance  a  Hun- 
garian dance ;  I  was  to  fiddle,  Esaias  was  to  sing  the 
high  priest's  aria  from  the  opera  of  Nabucco  :  '  He 
who  trusts  in  the  Lord  ! '—  You  know  the  rest." 

"Of  course  I  do.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the 
committee  one  of  the  membei-s  had  a  slight  mis- 
understanding with  another  member,  at  the  second 
meeting  a  second  member  had  a  second  misunder- 
standing, and  by  the  time  the  fifth  meeting  was 
held  Esaias  and  yourself  were  left  to  practise  alone. 

"  That  is,  word  for  word,  what  did  happen,  with 
this  little  difference,  that  we  never  had  any  practice 
at  all.  On  the  fifth  occasion,  four  of  the  six  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  sent  letters  of  excuse.  Every 
one  of  them  was  ill.  It  was  a  veritable  epidemic. 
Only  the  dancing  master  found  no  excuse  for  him- 
self. As  he  was  the  only  dancing-master  in  the 
town  he  could  not  go  and  lie  that  he  had  sprained 
his  foot. 

"  Esaias  walked  three  times  up  and  down  in  front 
of  my  house,  puffing  away  at  his  big  pipe.     Every 


372  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

time  he  passed  he  looked  up  at  the  window,  and, 
seeing  nobody  there,  went  on  farther. 

"At  last  the  dancing-master  came  chassi-mg  np; 
I  could  see  from  his  grinning  face  that  he  had  some 
ill-tidings  to  tell  me.  Only  people  who  have  found 
some  excuse  for  covering  their  retreat  come  smiling 
like  that. 

"  '  My  lady !  I  am  inconsolable  ' — (*  I  know  all 
about  that ! '  thought  I) — '  but  I  can't  come  to  the 
concert.  Our  gipsy  musicians  have  gone  to  Pest.' 
('  "What  do  they  want  there?  '  I  asked.)  '  All  the 
gipsy  bands  in  the  kingdom  have  assembled  together 
for  a  grand  competition.  .  .  .  Now,  without 
gipsy  music  I  can't  dance.  Who  can  play  me  the 
"  Bihari  Kesergo,  "  I  should  like  to  know  ?  '  ('  I  will ! ' 
I  said.)  '  Ha  !  ha  !  ha !  that  wouldn't  do  at  all ! 
What  ?  one  dancer  and  one  violin-player ! — it  would 
be  a  mere  farce.' 

"  Hereupon  Esaias  popped  in.  Seeing  through  the 
window  that  I  was  no  longer  alone,  he  took  heart 
and  came  in.     He  had  not  dared  to  do  so  before." 

Here  I  intervened  :  "  If  I  am  not  very  much  mis- 
taken, I  know  this  dear  Esaias  of  yours.  It  once 
happened  to  him,  while  still  a  student,  that  he  sat 
beside  the  priest's  daughter  at  supper.  He  did  not 
dare  to  say  a  word  to  her  ;  but  in  the  afternoon  he 
went  up  the  church  tower  and  courted  the  young 
lady  from  one  of  the  windows." 

"  It  is  possible  that  it  was  he.  I,  however,  made 
both  the  gentlemen  stay,  that  at  least  the  coffee  and 


ESAIAS  MED  VEST  373 

*  cowl-skippers  '  ^  miglit  not  be  wasted.  They  did 
not  wait  to  be  asked  twice,  but  ate  with  right  good 
will.  During  the  meal  we  fully  discussed  the  best 
means  of  helping  forward  the  stranded  concert. 
Suddenly  the  dancing-master  looked  at  his  watch : 
'  Gracious  me,  if  it  isn't  six  o'clock  !  I  must  be  off 
to  give  the  children  of  the  chief  magistrate  a  danc- 
ing-lesson'— and  with  that  he  jumped  up,  kissed 
my  hand,  and  piroutted  off. 

"Then  Esaias  also  rose  from  the  table,  brushed 
the  crumbs  of  the  cowl-skippers  from  his  coat,  and 
said :  '  Blessing  and  peace  be  with  you  ! ' — This  was 
always  his  parting  formula.  Such  a  salutation  as 
'  Your  humble  servant ! '  or  'I  commend  myself  to 
your  protection ! '  nobody  has  ever  heard  from  his 
lips — no,  not  even  his  superintendent ;  for  Esaias 
is  not  htimhle  and  not  your  servant,  and  does  not 
commend  himself  to  anybody,  nor  will  he  tell  a  lie 
even  as  a  matter  of  form. 

"  *  What !  must  you  go  too  ?  '  I  replied  to  his 
'blessing  and  peace.'  *You  have  no  six-o'clock 
school  this  evening.' 

"  *  No ;  but  why  should  I  stay  here  if  there's  to 
be  no  practice  ?  ' 

'"Must  I,  then,  begin  singing  in  my  own  house 
before  a  man  ? ' 

"  '  It  depends  upon  the  man,'  replied  Esaias. 

" '  "What  am  I  to  understand  by  that  ? '  I  inquired, 
much  astonished. 

*  A  sort  of  dumpling. 


374  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

"  *  What  are  you  to  understand  by  that?  '  said  he, 
striking  the  leg  of  his  boot  repeatedly  with  his  pipe 
stem — '  what  are  you  to  understand  by  that  ?  It  is 
not  very  hard  to  understand,  I  should  think.  If  a 
lawyer,  a  doctor,  or  a  squire  were  to  come  to  see 
you  and  amuse  himself  here  with  or  without  music, 
not  a  dog  in  the  village  would  have  anything  to 
bark  at;  but  if  they  saw  the  schoolmaster  come 
here  at  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon — if  they  saw 
him,  I  say,  remain  here  last  of  all  when  the  other 
guests  were  gone,  then  there  would  be  such  a 
stir  in  Israel  that  men  would  be  ready  to  stone 
me,' 

"  '  Do  I  stand,  then,  in  such  evil  odour  as  all  that  ?' 

"  '  I  did  not  say  that  you  were  in  any  evil  odour 
at  all.' 

"'It  is  true,'  he  continued,  'that  there  are  as 
many  names  written  in  yovcc  album  as  in  Charles 
Trattner's  almanack.  That,  however,  does  a  pretty 
woman  no  harm.  But  me  the  Church  would  not 
forgive.  If  I  get  into  evil  odour,  if  I  overstep  the 
line,  I  shall  be  sent  packing.' 

'"Then  celibacy  obtains  among  the  Calvinists  also?' 

"  *  Not  celibacy,  but  we  have  the  canonical  pre- 
scriptions. A  canonical  offence  is  a  very  serious 
business  for  a  Calvinist  priest  or  schoolmaster.  Let 
a  man  be  a  veritable  John  Chrysostom,  and  it  will 
avail  him  nothing  if  he  commit  a  canonical  offence.' 

" '  And  you  have  never  committed  a  canonical 
offence  ?  '  I  said  to  him. 


ESAIAS  MEDV^SI  875 

"  '  Never ! '  he  replied  resolutely.  And  he  grew 
quite  red  in  the  face.  He  was  so  proud  of  his 
vii'tue." 

"  Why  surely  this  is  quite  a  new  thing  ?  "  I 
interrupted — "a  thing  never  known  in  the  world 
before  :  a  man  who  is  virtuous,  and  not  ashamed  to 
confess  it  ?  " 

"  Quite  unique,  isn't  it  ?  When  I  heard  this  I 
seized  his  hand  and  would  not  let  him  leave  me.  I 
could  read  from  his  eyes  that  it  was  the  first  time 
he  had  ever  felt  the  pressure  of  a  lady's  hand. 
'  You  have  been  candid,'  I  said  to  him,  '  I  will  be  can- 
did also.  You  would  never  approach  a  woman  whom 
you  had  not  led  to  the  altar.  I  know  it.  Then  you 
shall  lead  me  to  the  altar ! ' 

"  Even  this  did  not  seem  to  surprise  him.  His 
face  remained  as  motionless  as  a  statue. 

"  '  That  is  soon  done,'  said  he  ;  '  but  respice  finem  ! 
Man  proposes,  but  'tis  an  old  dog  that  holds  on.  I 
am  not  like  other  men.  I  am  a  very  difficult  man 
to  get  on  with.  You  can't  deal  with  me  as  with 
those  who  look  through  their  fingers  at  the  goings- 
on  of  their  spouses.  If  I  lake  you  to  wife,  there 
must  be  an  end  to  all  this  dancing  and  prancing  and 
gadding  about,  and  flirting  and  ogling.  My  wife 
will  not  have  to  go  fasting,  but  she  won't  be  allowed 
any  junketing.  I  don't  understand  a  joke.  Do  you 
see  this  cherrj^-wood  pipe-stem  ?  If  I  catch  my  wife 
at  any  piece  of  trickery,  I'll  break  this  cherry-stem 
across  her  back — take  my  word  for  it.'  " 


376  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

I  couldn't  help  smiling  at  this.  "  And  you,  my 
dear,  pretty  ward,  have  actually  taken  the  school- 
master to  husband,  cherry-stem  and  all  ?  " 

"  I  should  like  to  have  taken  him,  but  he  didn't 
surrender  himself  so  easily.  I  assured  him  that  I 
would  submit  myself  to  the  most  stringent  discipline 
of  virtue,  and  if  I  transgressed  against  him,  I  should 
not  mind  his  beating  me.  But  even  that  did  not 
vanquish  him.  By  no  means  whatever  could  he 
be  brought  to  sit  down  beside  me  on  the  sofa.  He 
even  pushed  back  the  chair  on  which  he  was  sitting, 
when  he  saw  that  I  was  besieging  him.  At  last  he 
brought  his  big  guns  to  bear  upon  me. 

"  '  Look  now,  my  dear  dame,  I  know  very  well 
that  humorous  habit  of  yours  of  never  remaining 
long  in  one  nest.  You  deal  with  your  sweethearts 
on  a  sort  of  give-and-take  system.  You  are  here  to- 
day and  off  to-morrow.  Supposing  now,  that  in  the 
exercise  of  my  marital  authority,  I  were  to  inflict 
an  edifying  chastisement  upon  you  for  your  flighti- 
ness,  you  might  easily  take  it  into  your  head  to  bolt, 
and  there  should  I  be  left  in  the  lurch  for  the  finger 
of  scorn  to  point  at.  A  Calvinist  schoolmaster  can- 
not submit  to  the  fate  of  an  ordinary  man.  If  my 
wife  were  to  leave  me,  I  should  be  expelled  from  the 
Church  with  contumely.  Then  I  should  have  to 
flee.  I  should  be  as  good  as  excluded  from  human 
society.  Now,  I  am  very  well  satisfied  with  my 
present  condition.  I  have  a  fixed  salary  of  six  hun- 
dred florins  in  good  hard  cash,  and  my  perquisites 


ESAIAS  MEDVESl  377 

amount  to  about  as  much  again.  I  live  honourably, 
you  see,  and  I  cannot  afford  to  stake  everything  on 
a  throw  of  the  dice.' 

"  Then  I  talked  big  also. 

"  *  Listen  to  me ! '  I  said.  *  I  have  capital  suffici- 
ent to  bring  me  in  as  much  as  your  yearly  income — 
that  is  to  say,  twenty-five  thousand  florins.  I  will 
make  over  the  whole  amount  to  you  by  way  of  a 
dower,  and  I  am  ready  to  forfeit  it  aU  in  case  I  am 
unfaithful  to  you.' " 

"  And  didn't  your  Esaias  capitulate  even  then  ?  " 
I  inquired  of  Bessy. 

"He  asked  for  three  days  to  think  about  it.  I 
immediately  hastened  to  you  to  signify  my  desire 
that  your  guardianship  might  cease." 

"  Then  Esaias  has  still  two  days'  grace,"  I  said. 
"  I  hope  and  trust  he  may  be  inwardly  illuminated 
to  say  no !  " 

"  Then  you  do  not  approve  of  my  determination  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  friend  of  truth,  and  I  understand  a  little 
about  prophecy  too.  It  doesn't  matter  to  me  if  you 
surrender  all  your  capital  as  a  sort  of  shrift-money, 
and  your  house  as  well." 

"  Such  a  man  as  he  is  worthy  of  it." 

"  I'll  take  your  word  for  it.  You  are  something 
of  an  expert  in  such  matters!  But  one  thing  I 
strongly  advise  you  to  do :  keep  the  garden  attached 
to  the  house  at  your  own  disposition." 

"Why?" 

"  That  you  may  have  it  planted  fuU  of  cherry- 


378  EVES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

trees.  I  know  the  natural  history  of  the  Calvinist- 
schoolmaster  species.  I  know  that  what  once  he  has 
promised  he  always  performs.  I  also  know  the 
natural  history  of  the  lady  with  the  eyes  like  the 
sea,  and  it  is  my  belief  that  you  will  frequently  give 
occasion  for  the  employment  of  cherry-tree  stems." 

At  this  the  fair  lady  sprang  from  her  chair,  boil- 
ing over  with  rage. 

"  "What  a  gross  monster  it  is  !  Poet  indeed  !  A 
pedantic  lout  is  what  I  call  you !  They've  done  very 
well  to  lock  you  up.  This  is  the  last  time  that  we 
shall  ever  talk  to  each  other." 

And  with  that  she  went,  or  rather  flounced,  away. 

But  I  gave  a  great  sigh  of  relief. 

"  May  she  keep  her  word,  and  never,  never  come 
back  again !  "  I  said. 

^  *  *  *  if 

One  of  the  first  things  I  saw,  on  my  release  from 
prison,  was  the  announcement  in  the  newspapers  of 
the  solemnization  of  the  man-iage.  The  bank  also 
informed  me  by  letter  that  the  amount  there  stand- 
ing to  the  credit  of  my  ward  had  been  transferred 
to  her  husband's  name. 

Well,  at  last  Bessy  had  got  the  we  'plus  ultra  of 
husbands.  For,  really,  the  man  who  has  reached 
his  two-and-thirtieth  year  without  sinning  against 
the  canonical  prescriptions  must  indeed  be  a  super- 
lative treasure  in  the  eyes  of  a  lady  who  knows  how 
to  appreciate  the  value  of  such  renunciation. 


CHAPTEE  XX 

CONFESSION 

A  \  TELL,  the  long  and  short  of  it  is,  confess  I 
'  '  must,  that  I  have  a  sweetheart  for  whose 
sake  I  have  been  unfaithful,  not  only  to  my  wife,  but 
to  my  muse  also — a  sweetheart  who  has  immeshed 
me  in  her  spider's  web,  and  sucked  my  heart's  blood 
dry,  who  has  appropriated  my  best  ideas,  made  me 
scamper  after  her  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to 
the  other,  and  whose  slave  I  was  and  still  am. 
Often  have  I  wasted  half  my  fortune  upon  her,  and 
rushed  blindly  into  misfortune  to  please  her.  For 
her  have  I  patiently  endured  insult,  ridicule,  and 
reprobation.  For  her  sake  I  have  staked  life  and 
liberty. 

Sometimes,  when  I  have  felt  the  pinch  of  her 
tyranny,  I  have  tried  to  escape  from  her ;  but  she 
has  enticed  me  back  agrin  and  would  not  let  me  go. 
Now,  if  she  had  been  some  pretty  young  damsel, 
there  might  have  been  some  excuse  for  me.  But  she 
was  a  nasty,  old,  painted  figure-head  of  a  beldame ; 
a  flirting,  faithless,  fickle,  foul-mouthed,  scandal- 
mongering  old  liar,  whom  the  whole  world  courts, 
who  makes  fools  of  all  her  wooers,  and  changes  her 
lover  as  often  as  she  changes  her  dress. 

379 


380  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

Her  name  is  Politica,^  and  may  the  plague  take  her. 

There  was  one  particular  year  in  which  I  was  over 
head  and  ears  in  love  with  her,  and  did  absolutely 
everything  she  wanted.  On  her  account  I  fell  out 
with  a  good  friend  of  mine  who  was  the  very  right 
hand  of  my  newspaper.  I  fought  (also  on  her  ac- 
count) a  duel  with  pistols  with  another  good  friend  of 
mine,  who  had  no  more  offended  me  than  I  had  ever 
offended  him,  in  fact,  we  had  always  respected  each 
other  most  highly.  But  Politica  insisted  upon  it, 
and  so  we  banged  away  at  each  other.  Then  she 
hounded  me  on  against  a  third  good  friend  of  mine, 
who  was  an  excellent  fellow,  and  a  Hungarian 
Minister  of  State  to  boot,  and  induced  me  to  en- 
deavour to  thwart  his  election.  And  I  actually  did 
make  this  excellent  fellow's  election  fall  through, 
this  good  friend  whom  I  respected,  loved  and 
honoured.  Politica  demanded  it.  "What  a  parade  she 
made  when  she  dragged  me  along  after  her  triumphal 
car  !  She  actually  made  me  believe  that  I  was  now 
the  most  famous  man  in  the  whole  kingdom  !  And 
she  made  me  pay  for  her  precious  favours,  too !  What 
petits  soupers  for  five  hundred  men  at  a  time! 
"What  hundreds  of  carriages !  "What  toilets  !  .  .  . 
But  in  those  days  I  was  quite  wrapped  up  in  her. 

After  my  great  triumph  a  torrent  of  congratulatory 

letters  and  telegrams  showered  down  upon  me.     I 

had  actually  upset  a  Cabinet  Minister !     That  was 

a  triumph !    Every  one  who,  at  any  time,  or  under 

*  Politics. 


CONFESSION  381 

any  circumstances,  had  been  acquainted  with  me, 
called  upon  me  after  my  brilliant  success.  Old 
school-fellows  with  whom  I  had  formerly  fought  in 
the  playground  now  recollected  me.  There  was  a 
brisk  demand  for  my  autograph.  I  was  proud  of 
it  all.  I  was  not  even  surprised,  therefore,  when 
one  afternoon  they  brought  into  me  a  visiting  card 
with  the  name  "  Mrs.  Esaias  Medvesi  "  upon  it. 

It  was  very  natural  that  she  also  should  visit  me. 
The  sunbeams  of  my  glory  had  melted  the  ice  of  her 
displeasure.  Six  years  had  now  passed  since  I  had 
seen  her.  I  could  imagine  how  she  had  filled  out  in 
the  meantime.  "Well  taken  care  of,  with  no  vexa- 
tions to  worry  her,  harassed  by  no  passions,  what 
other  fate  could  possibly  await  my  fair  ideal  than— 
to  grow  fat  ? 

All  the  more  startled  was  I,  therefore,  when  I  did 
see  her. 

She  had  grown  quite  gaunt.  Her  old-fashioned 
dress,  which  had  been  made  to  fit  fuller  forms,  hung 
loosely  about  her.  Her  face,  once  so  rosy  and  gay, 
was  now  lean  and  haggard ;  sombre  wrinkles,  which 
met  together  beneath  her  chin,  had  taken  the  place 
of  her  roguish  dimples.  Only  by  her  eyes  could  I 
recognise  her :  they  were  still  the  eyes  of  yore. 

When  she  saw  me  she  forced  a  smile,  but  I  could 
see  how  much  it  cost  her. 

1  have  never  thought  it  a  proper  question  to  ask 
any  one  whose  face  has  altered  a  good  deal,  "  Are 
you  ill  ?  "  but  she  herself  led  up  to  it. 


332  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

"  I  have  greatly  changed,  haven't  I  ?  'Tis  a  won- 
der that  you  recognise  me.  I  have  been  very  ill. 
I  have  just  come  from  the  doctor.  I  have  been 
suffering  from  a  quartan  ague,  which  our  country 
doctors  could  not  drive  away." 

"  But  otherwise  you  are  all  right,  I  trust  ?  " 

"  No,  I  am  not.  I  fancy  that  my  physical  ail- 
ment is  only  as  stubborn  as  it  is,  because  my  mind 
also  is  not  as  it  should  be." 

I  asked  her  what  was  the  matter. 

"  I  have  come  on  purpose  to  tell  you.  You  always 
gave  me  good  advice,  and  I  never  took  it.  It  may 
be  that  I  wouldn't  take  it  even  now ;  but  at  least 
it  would  relieve  my  mind  to  tell  you  aU  about  it.  I 
have  a  secret  desire  which  is  destroying  my  whole 
soul :  I  go  to  sleep  with  it,  and  I  wake  up  with  it," 

"  What  desire  can  it  be  ?  " 

"  If  you  but  look  at  my  face,  you  can  easily  see 
that  it  is  no  sinful  affection." 

"  And  yet  it  must  be  kept  secret  ?  " 

"  Yes,  for  I  go  about  day  and  night  with  the 
thought  of  becoming  a  Catholic." 

I  was  so  startled  by  this,  that  in  my  amazement 
I  knew  not  what  to  say  to  her. 

"  It  is  my  fixed  resolution.  The  only  thing  that 
can  give  to  my  soul  peace  on  earth  and  salvation 
in  heaven  is  conversion  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church." 

"  How  did  you  come  by  this  resolution  ?  There 
is  no  Catholic  church  in  the  town  where  you  reside." 


CONFESSION  8^ 

"  But  there  is  a  monastery  quite  close  to  it, 
a  sweet,  quiet,  pleasant  place.  I  am  wont  to  go 
there  when  they  are  not  watching  me.  A  mere 
accident  moved  me  at  first.  Curiosity  led  me  into 
the  church  when  I  heard  the  holy  chants  through 
the  door  ;  but  now  it  is  devotion  which  leads  me 
there.  Ah !  how  much  more  sublime  a  place  it  is 
than  our  bald,  bare  place  of  worship.  Wherever 
I  look  I  see  groups  of  holy  figures  who  bless  and 
beckon  me.  And  those  sublime  chants,  which  seem 
to  come  from  the  angelic  chorus  of  heaven,  and 
ravish  my  soul  away  to  a  world  unknown — but  oh, 
how  ardently  desired  !  And  then  the  deep  silence, 
which  is  scarcely  broken  by  the  solemn  sanctus- 
bell ;  and  then  the  form  of  the  priest  himself,  who, 
like  a  supernatural  being,  speaks  before  the  altar 
in  a  language  which  men  may  not,  but  God  does, 
understand.  When  I  come  out  of  such  a  church  it 
seems  to  me  as  if  I  have  been  speaking  to  God." 

I  began  thinking  what  would  be  the  end  of  it  all. 
The  lady  became  insistent. 

"What  do  you  advise?  What  shall  I  do?  My 
soul  compels  me  to  it." 

"  My  dear  friend,"  I  replied,  "  you  know  that  I 
am  a  Protestant — and  as  a  Protestant  I  am  liberally 
and  indulgently  inclined  towards  every  other  creed. 
I  advise  nobody  to  change  his  religion,  neither  do 
I  dissuade  him  from  so  doing.  I  have  a  real  venera- 
tion for  the  Catholic  faith.  I  consider  its  ritual 
majestic  and  sublime,  and  its  ceremonies  are  un- 


384  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

doubtedly  imposing  and  toucliing.  Had  I  been  bom 
a  Catholic,  I  should  have  been  an  ardent  champion 
of  my  Church.  But  how  can  I  approve  of  the  con- 
version of  a  person  in  your  position  ?  Do  you  not 
reflect  that  your  husband  is  an  officer  of  the  Cal- 
vinist  communion  ?  " 

"  But  it  is  the  very  prosaic  nature  of  this  com- 
munion which  offends  me.  For  in  what  a  dull 
manner  do  our  elders  and  deacons  perform  their 
sacred  functions !  Prayer,  sermon,  hymns — every- 
thing is  with  them  a  mere  matter  of  enforced  routine. 
How  can  they  inspire  others  who  have  not  them- 
selves the  gift  of  grace  ?  Such  people  can  only 
mock  at  and  speak  scornfully  of  their  neighbours' 
faith  because  they  have  no  real  faith  of  their  own." 

"  But  pray  recollect  that  a  Protestant  schoolmaster 
loses  his  post  if  his  wife  changes  her  religion." 

"He  may  lose  his  material  comforts,  but  I  lose 
the  repose  of  my  soul." 

"  My  dear  Bessy,  I  can  imagine  that  a  woman 
with  extraordinarily  sensitive  nerves  may  find  no 
consolation  in  Puritan  simplicity.  If  you  would 
seek  refuge  in  true  devotion,  procure  Allach's  prayer- 
book — the  manual  of  Catholic  prayers,  you  know. 
In  that  book  you'll  find  everything  that  is  sublime, 
majestic,  and  heavenly  in  Catholic  theology.  Pray 
out  of  that  book  when  you  are  alone  and  nobody 
sees  you." 

"  That  is  not  enough  for  me.  Religion  does  not 
consist  in  prayers  and  singiag  alone." 


CONFESSION  8dS 

**Then  perhaps  it  is  the  pomp  of  the  external 
ceremonies  which  has  such  an  effect  on  your 
mind?" 

"  That  affects  me  least  of  all.  But  there  is  in 
the  Catholic  Church  an  institution  as  sublime  as 
it  is  comforting,  an  institution  sufficient  of  itself  to 
spread  the  Catholic  religion  all  over  the  round 
world  wherever  there  are  hearts  that  bleed,  wher- 
ever there  are  those  who  suffer  from  other  than 
merely  material  aches  and  pains.  That  institution 
is  confession.  It  was  a  gross  blunder  of  John  Calvin 
not  to  have  retained  that  institution  for  the  faith- 
ful. He  did  not  know  the  heart,  especially  the 
female  heart.  There  is  no  greater  torture  in  this 
world  than  to  carry  about  in  one's  soul  night  and 
day  an  evil  thought  which  harasses  and  pursues, 
and  be  unable  to  tell  it  to  anybody.  A  Catholic 
woman  can  always  find  a  word  of  consolation  for 
her  despair,  a  hand  stretched  out  to  raise  her  when 
she  falls ;  she  has  a  refuge  against  the  accusations 
of  her  own  conscience ;  if  she  has  sinned,  she  can 
beg  for  absolution,  and  her  soul  is  lightened  of  its 
load.  But  who  can  absolve  me?  To  whom  can 
I  tell  that  which  tortures  me  within  ?  " 

Her  eyes  were  fixed  and  staring  like  the  eyes  of 
a  somnambulist  who  sees  nothing  before  her  but  a 
visionary  world  which  others  do  not  see,  and  at 
the  same  time  she  raised  her  index  finger  and  laid 
it  on  her  parched  and  cracking  lips,  as  if  to  keep 
back  the  moanings  of  her  dumb  distress. 


386  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

I  was  deeply  grieved  for  her.  She  had  no  need 
to  tell  me  what  she  felt;  her  features  spoke  for 
themselves,  and  said  how  much  she  must  have 
suffered  since  the  last  change  in  her  life. 

"  My  dear  friend,"  I  said  at  last,  "  you  have  now 
known  me  for  a  long  time,  and  you  know  that  I 
have  always  been  your  well-wisher.  If  you  have 
any  bitter  thought  which  oppresses  you,  confess  it 
to  me.  Amongst  Protestants  every  man  is  a  priest. 
That  is  our  fundamental  dogma.     Confess  to  me !  " 

She  smiled  strangely ;  just  as  a  sick  man  smiles 
when  the  doctor  tries  to  persuade  him  that  he 
really  is  well,  while  he  himself  is  thinking  all  the 
time :  "  Just  you  wait  a  bit,  and  I'll  turn  the  joke 
against  you  and — die !  " 

"  You  will  receive  my  confession,  then  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  and  rest  assured  that  I'll  keep  the  solemn 
secret  as  sacred  as  a  consecrated  priest." 

"As  long  as  I  am  alive,  at  any  rate.  After  I 
am  dead,  I  don't  care  what  you  do.  You  may  then 
proclaim  it  to  the  world  if  you  like.  "When  I  am 
dead,  I  authorize  you  to  write  a  romance  about  me ; 
a  romance  like  mine  you  have  never  written  yet. 
But  till  then,  not  a  word  to  any  one  of  what  you 
will  now  hear  from  me.  To  nobody,  not  even  to 
your  wife !  Promise  me  that !  Your  word  of  hon- 
our on  it ! " 

"  My  friend,  there  is  a  crypt  within  my  breast 
for  buried  secrets.  Your  secret  shall  repose  among 
the  rest" 


CONFESSION  387 

She  bent  down  to  my  ear,  her  burning  breath 
scorched  my  face,  and  she  whispered;  "I  confess 
to  you  that  I  wish  to  kill  my  husband J^ 

Horrified,  I  looked  into  her  eyes,  they  flashed  up 
at  me  like  the  eyes  of  devils.  That  wish  of  hers 
was  a  real  living  wish. 

"  And  what  I've  said,  I'll  do  " — and  she  pressed 
her  lips  together  till  they  were  quite  thin,  and  her 
eyes  distended  into  orbs  filled  with  threatening  fire. 

"  G-ood  Heavens !  what  thought  is  this  ?  " 

She  looked  at  me  with  a  malicious  smile. 

"  There,  you  see  you  are  no  priest,  and  can  give 
no  absolution." 

"  Nor  would  a  priest  give  you  absolution  either. 
A  priest  can  impose  penance  for  sin  repented  of, 
but  he  cannot  give  indulgence  beforehand  for  a 
meditated  crime.  A  priest  could  only  say  to  you 
what  I  say  now  :  *  Fly  to  God  and  cleanse  your  soul 
from  this  dark  thought ! '  How  could  you  ever 
have  suffered  it  to  enter  your  soul,  that  good  and 
gentle  soul  of  yours  that  used  always  to  love  and 
never  to  hate?" 

"  Yes,  such  I  ever  was,  was  I  not  ?  I  was  indeed 
a  loving  fool.  You  once  wrote  a  tale  which  I  re- 
member reading  when  a  child.  In  this  tale  a  dis- 
tracted heart  relates  how  many  ways  there  are  of 
extinguishing  life.  Amongst  other  things  written 
there  is  this :  that  if  honey  is  allowed  to  stand  till 
it  rots,  it  turns  into  the  deadliest  venom.  This  is 
quite  true  as  to  the  honey  with  which  the  heart  of 


388  EYES  LIKE   THE.  SEA 

a  poor  credulous  woman  is  full,  but  it  is  not  true 
with  regard  to  the  honey  of  the  field.  I  have  tried 
and  found  that  it  is  not  true." 

"  Beheve  me,  neither  case  is  true.  In  mamed 
life  there  is  no  such  sea  of  bitterness  as  cannot  be 
made  sweet  again  by  a  single  drop  of  love." 

"  Alas !  what  I  suffer  exceeds  even  the  power  of 
your  imagination.  Contempt,  degradation,  is  my 
daily  bread.  Insult  follows  upon  every  step  I  take. 
"When  I  speak,  my  words  are  misinterpreted  ;  when 
I  am  silent,  I  am  chided ;  when  I  weep,  I  am  bullied 
and  brow-beaten." 

"Do  you  think  that  perhaps  your  husband  sus- 
pects your  intention  of  changing  your  faith  ?  " 

"  So  much  he  knows,  that  I  frequently  visit  the 
monastery,  and  often  have  talks  with  one  of  the 
monks.  I  solemnly  swear  that  I've  talked  to  him 
about  nothing  but  religion  and  holy  things.  He, 
however,  accuses  me  of  the  nastiest  things.  Then 
when  we  sit  together  at  table,  he  poisons  every  dish 
I  eat  by  singing  the  most  derisive  songs  he  can 
think  of  about  those  women  who  rave  about  cowls 
and  cassocks;  in  fact,  he  is  always  singing  such 
songs  in  my  presence." 

"  But,  my  dear  friend,  you  take  these  things  too 
tragically.  These  derisive  songs  have  been  sung 
time  out  of  mind.  Your  husband  has  not  invented 
them  for  your  special  aggravation.  Laugh  at  him 
to  his  face,  and  he'll  hold  his  tongue." 

"  Very  well,  then.    Let  what  he  does  to  ridicule 


CONFESSION  889 

me  be  forgiven.  But  ever  since  lie  has  begun  to 
suspect  my  spiritual  condition,  he  leaves  no  stone 
unturned  to  disturb  my  devotions.  If  in  the  after- 
noon or  evening,  when  the  chiming  of  the  cloister 
bell  is  wafted  over  to  us,  I  involuntarily  join  my 
hands  together,  he  laughs  at  me :  '  Ha !  ha !  ha ! 
they  are  ringing  the  bells  to  call  you  to  prayer,  are 
they  ?  '  Now,  the  Calvinists  do  not  ring  for  evening 
prayers,  neither  do  they  sound  the  Angelus,  and  this 
is  a  great  grief  to  me.  It  is  like  rolling  my  bread 
in  the  mud  and  then  making  me  eat  it.  This  con- 
tinual ridiculing  clings  to  me  like  tar ;  it  chokes,  it 
nauseates.  I  feel  just  as  if  I  were  swimming  in  a 
sea  of  glue.  He  relates  to  me  the  most  villainous 
anecdotes  about  the  holy  images.  Last  Saturday  it 
rained  the  whole  morning,  and  I  could  not  go  to 
town.  He  saw  my  impatience,  and  said  to  me  de- 
risively, '  Never  mind,  thou  female^  it  will  clear  up 
this  afternoon,  for  the  Virgin  Mary  wants  to  dry  her 
son's  little  shirt  for  Sunday ! '  It  was  well  for  him 
that  he  left  the  room  that  instant,  for  I  was  very 
near  driving  my  knife  into  his  heart !  " 

I  tried  to  quiet  the  excited  creature  by  saying 
that  though  this  was  no  very  reverent  jest,  yet  it 
was  not  an  invention  of  Esaias'Sc  This  jest  about 
the  breaking  out  of  the  sunshine  on  Saturday  after- 
noon was  a  common  saying  among  the  Hungarian 
country  folk,  and,  taken  seriously,  had  really  nothing 
impious  about  it,  representing,  indeed,  that  sacred 
figure,  whom  all  of  us  are  bound  to  reverence,  as 


390  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

a  provident  mother  from  the  homely,  rustic  point  of 
view. 

"  I  don't  like  to  hear  that  name  on  his  lips.  Why, 
I  sent  away  an  old  servant  of  mine  called  Marcsa 
for  no  other  reason  than  because  her  master  was 
always  calling  her  Maria,  and  every  such  time  it 
was  as  if  a  dagger  were  piercing  my  heart." 

I  saw  that  the  woman  was  really  suffering.  It 
was  a  case  where  a  heroic  remedy  was  required. 

"My  dear  friend,"!  said,  "I  cannot  blame  your 
husband.  Your  religious  extravagance,  which  has 
been  not  a  little  stimulated  by  the  irritability  of 
your  nerves  and  the  nostrums  which  the  provincial 
doctors  have  made  you  drink,  is  a  question  of  *  to 
be  or  not  to  be '  for  your  husband.  If  you  cling  to 
the  saints,  poor  Esaias  will  feel  the  earth  giving  way 
beneath  him.  You  are  bound  to  one  another,  re- 
member. If  you  go  and  seek  heaven  in  another 
church,  you  will  only  install  hell  in  your  own  house. 
Believe  me,  if  your  husband  discovers  your  de- 
sign, he  will  fly  into  a  fury  and  tear  you  to  pieces. 
If  I  were  you  I  should  go  to  some  medicinal  water- 
ing place  and  get  your  nerves  braced  up  a  bit." 

"I  see — I  see.  You  do  not  understand  what  is 
the  matter  with  me.  You  think  it  is  a  mere  femi- 
nine ailment,  which  is,  generally,  half  affectation. 
Look  at  that  recipe.  The  most  famous  doctor  in  the 
capital  prescribed  it  for  me,  I  went  to  him,  he 
diagnosed  me.  He  said  that  the  country  doctors 
had  not  treated  my  case  properly.    They  had  stuffed 


CONFESSION  891 

me  full  of  quinine,  he  said,  and  it  was  not  the  medi- 
cament that  I  wanted.  So  he  prescribed  me  another. 
Read  it!" 

I  looked  at  the  prescription  and  saw  it  was  arsenic. 

"  The  doctor  prescribed  six  drops  for  the  first  day, 
and  a  drop  more  every  other  day  up  to  twenty  drops, 
and  then  back  by  single  drops  to  six  again.  Then 
my  fever  will  return  no  more.  But  he  cautioned 
me  to  keep  most  strictly  to  his  prescription,  as  the 
remedy  was  a  very  dangerous  one.     Is  that  so  ?  " 

"It  is." 

"I  have  had  it  made  up  in  the  Jozsefvarose  dis- 
pensary." And  with  that  she  drew  out  the  flask 
from  her  pocket  and  showed  it  me. 

"  That  will  do  for  me.  I  will  now  go  with  this 
prescription  to  all  the  ten  apothecaries  in  the  town 
and  have  it  made  up  by  every  one  of  them.  Ten 
times  the  strength  will  certainly  do  for  him.^' 

Horrified,  I  seized  her  hand. 

"  Miserable  woman,  what  wouldst  thou  do?  Surely 
not  commit  murder  ?  "Wouldst  thou  poison  thy 
husband's  body  and  my  soul  ?  Every  time  I  have 
thought  of  thee  I  have  seen  thee  before  me  in  the 
idealized  form  of  my  pure  love  of  early  days,  and 
wilt  thou  now  put  horror  and  aversion  in  the  place 
of  it  ?    Give  me  that  prescription !  " 

With  terrified,  staring  eyes,  and  trembling  in 
every  nerve,  the  woman  fell  down  on  her  knees  be- 
fore me,  and  when  I  said  to  her :  "  Hitherto  thou 
hast  always  had  a  place  in  my  prayers,  dost  thou 


392  EYES  LIKE  THE  SEA 

wish  me  to  east  thee  forth  from  my  remembrance 
with  curses  ?  "  she  began  to  smile. 

" '  Tis  the  first  time  in  your  life  that  you  have 
'  thou^d  '  me.  Let  me  then  return  the  compliment. 
But  no,  I  cannot  thou  thee.  The  word  th(m  cannot 
come  out  of  my  mouth.  Don't  lift  me  up.  Let  me 
kneel  before  you.  I  fain  would  only  weep,  but  no 
tears  will  flow.  Here  is  the  prescription.  Destroy 
it  if  you  like.  I  was  mad.  I  knew  not  what  I  said. 
'Tis  true.  If  life  be  grievous  to  me,  'tis  I  who  ought 
to  die." 

"  What  you  now  say  is  also  a  sin.  Heaven  does 
not  give  us  that  divine  spark,  the  spirit,  only  that 
we  may  fling  it  back  again.  Learn  to  bear  your 
sorrows  in  silence.  Every  one  of  us  has  his  cross, 
which  God  has  laid  upon  him  that  he  may  carry  it 
.  .  .  K  you  would  believe  in  the  saints,  follow 
their  example.  Be  a  martyr,  if  God  so  wills  it — 
that  is  the  real  Catholic  faith.     .     .     ." 

She  began  to  sob,  but  after  some  little  difficulty  I 
contrived  to  pacify  her.  I  also  provided  her  with 
all  sorts  of  good  homely  counsels.  "  A  good  wife," 
I  said,  "  ought  to  humour  her  husband,  and  not  sit 
in  judgment  on  his  faults.  I  told  her  to  bring  him 
to  me  and  introduce  me  to  him.  Perhaps  I  might 
make  some  impression  on  him,  and  prevail  upon 
him  not  to  press  his  crotchets  too  far.  It  was  even 
possible  that  I  might  find  him  some  work  to  do, 
something  relating  to  spiritual  subjects  which  might 
OQOupy  his  mind,  kindle  his  ambition,  and  make 


CONFESSION  893 

him  peel  off  his  cynical  husk.  No  doubt  he  was  a 
good  and  worthy  man,  who  only  needed  to  be  pro- 
perly taken  in  hand  to  get  on  very  well." 

The  lady  with  the  eyes  like  the  sea  listened  with 
many  shakes  of  the  head,  but  she  had  gradually 
grown  much  more  quiet.  Those  eyes  of  hers,  how 
they  could  express  gratitude  !  It  really  seemed  as 
if,  beneath  the  influence  of  my  words,  her  face  was 
recovering  the  rosy  hue  that  it  had  lost. 

Alas,  no !  Vain  thought !  'Twas  not  my  words, 
but  something  else. 

She  arose  and  rallied  her  spirits. 

"  Very  well !  I'll  take  your  advice.  I  will  endure. 
I  will  be  patient.  I  will  down  with  every  evil 
thought.  I  will  show  that  I  can  be  a  good  wife. 
You  shall  be  satisfied  with  me.  But  one  thing  I'll 
tell  you.  My  husband  has  threatened  to  strike  me. 
[f  ever  he  does  that,  then  God  be  merciful  both  to 
him  and  me." 

Now  I  knew  why  her  face  had  turned  so  red — 
"If  my  husband  dishonours  me  by  a  single  blow, 
I  swear  that  I'll  seize  a  gun  and  shoot  him  dead !  " 
And  with  that  she  nished  out  of  the  room.  I  felt 
as  if  I  ought  to  call  after  her :  "  Don't  go  home, 
wretched  woman ! " 

It  was  too  late.  She  was  already  outside  the  door. 
She  had  vanished  like  a  vision  of  the  night. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

MABIA  NOSTBA 

A  H !  what  an  ocean  of  time  has  passed  since  this 
-^^  happened.  It  must  be  twenty  years,  at  least. 
It  makes  me  giddy  when  I  look  back  upon  it.  But 
how  many  evil  years  there  were,  how  many  days 
that  I  do  not  love  to  think  about !  How  many  have 
been  torn  from  my  side  to  whom  life  was  a  joy  and 
on  whom  the  future  smiled !  And  I  still  remain ! 
Only  here  and  there,  now  and  again,  perhaps,  do  I 
encounter  a  grey-headed  shape  like  myself,  a  relic 
from  that  brilliant  time,  and  what  a  joy  it  then  is  to 
look  back  upon  those  old  days  and  say :  "  It  is  not 
so  good  now  as  it  was  then  !  " 

Some  years  ago  I  was  on  a  visit  of  inspection 
among  our  large  national  State  prisons.  I  happened 
to  be  at  Szamosujvar  and  Illava,  where  the  aristo- 
cracy of  crime  is  collected  together,  persons  con- 
demned to  a  term  of  imprisonment  exceeding  ten 
years,  all  of  them  criminals  once  under  sentence  of 
death,  but  reprieved  by  an  act  of  grace.  Here 
were  interesting  studies  of  the  night  side  of  human 
nature. 

Mi 


MARIA  NOSTRA  895 

I  also  visited  the  Maria  Nostra.  Here  the  female 
criminals  resided,  and  nuns  were  the  warders. 

This  house  of  correction  can  only  be  visited  by 
special  permission  of  the  Ministry. 

There  the  discipline  is  strict,  but  the  prisoners 
are  very  well  treated. 

Last  of  all  we  visited  the  day-room,  where  the 
prisoners  were  at  work. 

They  all  sat  in  a  long  room,  and  were  sewing. 
Those  who  could  do  the  finer  sort  of  work  were  at 
little  tables  of  their  own.  I  stopped  before  one  of 
such  tables ;  a  woman  was  sewing  some  sort  of 
child's  garment.  It  is  the  rule  that  when  a  visitor 
stops  before  the  table  of  one  of  the  felons,  she  shall 
immediately  rise  from  her  seat  and,  whether  asked 
or  unasked,  say  what  her  crime  is  and  how  long 
her  term  of  imprisonment. 

She  arose  when  I  stood  before  her  table. 

Her  hair  was  as  white  as  autumn  gossamers,  but 
her  eyes  still  flashed  with  their  old  varying  fires — 
they  were  still,  as  of  old,  the  flaming  eyes  like  the 
sea!  In  a  dull  monotone  she  told  me  her  crime 
and  her  sentence:  "I  killed  my  husband.  I  am 
condemned  to  imprisonment  for  life." 

For  life ! — and  life  so  long ! 

"  Can  I  not  use  my  interest  in  your  favour  ?  " 

"I  thank  you,  but  it  is  well  with  me  here.  1 
wish  for  nothing  more  in  this  world." 

And  with  that  she  returned  to  her  place  and 
went  on  with  her  work. 


396  EYES  LIKE   THE  SEA 

Poor  little  Bessy ! 

Last  year  I  received  a  letter  announcing  her 
death.  It  was  her  last  wish  that  I,  but  nobody 
else,  should  be  informed  of  it.         .    , 


THE   END. 


By  Myrtle  Reed.     12°,  gilt  top      .        ,        .        $1.75 

"  Miss  Reed's  book  is  an  exquisite  prose  poem — words  strung  on 
thought-threads  of  gold — in  which  a  musician  tells  his  love  for  one 
whom  he  has  found  to  be  his  ideal.  The  idea  is  not  new,  but  the 
opinion  is  ventured  that  nowhere  has  it  been  one-half  so  well 
carried  out  as  in  the  '  Love  Letters  of  a  Musician.'  The  ecstacy  of 
hope,  the  apathy  of  despair,  alternate  in  these  enchanting  letters, 
without  one  line  of  cynicism  to  mar  the  beauty  of  their  effect." — 
Rochester  Herald. 


%XiXtx  Sotre  %t\Xtxs  ot  a  Musician 

By  Myrtle  Reed.     12°,  gilt  top      .        .        .        $1.75 

"  It  was  with  considerable  hesitation  that  Myrtle  Reed's  second 
volume  of  a  musician's  love  letters  was  taken  up,  a  natural  inference 
being  that  Miss  Reed  could  scarcely  hope  to  repeat  her  first  success. 
Yet  that  she  has  equalled,  if  not  surpassed,  the  interest  of  her  earlier 
letters  is  soon  apparent.  Here  will  be  found  the  same  delicate 
fancy,  the  same  beautiful  imagery,  and  the  same  musical  phrases 
from  well-known  composers,  introducing  the  several  chapters,  and 
giving  the  key  to  their  various  moods.  Miss  Reed  has  accomplished 
her  purpose  successfully  in  both  series  of  the  letters." — N.  Y.  Times 
Saturday  Review. 

By  Alice  Dew-Smith,  author  of   "  Soul  Shapes,"  "  A 
White  Umbrella,"  etc.     12°,  gilt  top     ,         .         $1.50 

"  A  book  to  be  read  as  a  sedative  by  the  busy  and  overworked. 
The  scene  is  laid  in  England,  and  is  bathed  in  a  peculiarly  English 
atmosphere  of  peace  and  leisure.  Contains  much  domestic  philos- 
ophy of  a  pleasing  if  not  very  original  sort,  and,  incidentally,  no  lit- 
tle good-natured  social  satire." — N.   Y.  Evening  Post. 

"  This  is  a  book  of  the  meditative  order.  The  writer  expresses 
her  thoughts  in  a  manner  that  is  a  delightful  reminder  of  '  Reveries 
of  a  Bachelor '  of  Ike  Marvel.  ...  In  parts  it  is  amusing,  in 
the  manner  of  Mark  Twain's  '  Sketches.'  The  combination  of 
humor  and  sensible  reflection  results  to  the  reader's  delight." — 
Albany  Times  Union, 

"  '  The  Diary  of  a  Dreamer  '  is  a  charming  treatment  of  the  every- 
day topics  of  life.  As  in  '  Reveries  of  a  Bachelor '  and  '  Elizabeth 
and  her  German  Garden,'  we  find  an  engaging  presentation,  from 
the  feminine  point  of  view,  of  the  scenes  and  events  that  make  up 
the  daily  living.  The  '  Diary  '  is  one  of  those  revelations  of  thought 
and  feeling  that  fit  so  well  into  the  reader's  individual  experience." 
— Detroit  Free  Press. 


Q.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London 


FICTION. 

SMITH    BRUNT 

United  States  Navy.     By  Waldron  K.  Post,  author 

of  "  Harvard  Stories,"  etc,     12°,  459  pages,  $1.50, 

"A  rattling  good  story  of  the  Old  Navy.  .  .  .  The  book 
recalls  Harry  Gringo  by  its  breadth  and  interest  of  plot ;  which 
means  it  is  a  first-class  sea  story.  It  is  not  an  imitation,  however. 
.  .  .  The  prevailing  thought  of  the  book  is  the  unity  of  aims, 
ideals  and  race  between  Englishmen  and  Americans,  and  this  idea  is 
brought  out  so  well  that,  even  though  the  reader  enjoys  the  story  -of 
the  fierce  sea-fights,  he  deplores  the  shedding  of  blood  by  brothers' 
hands." — Buffalo  Express. 

BEARERS  OF  THE  BURDEN 

Being  Stories  of  Land  and   Sea.     By  Major  W.  P. 

Drury,  Royal  Marines.     12°,  286  pages,  $t.oo. 

"  Major  Drury's  stories  combine  pathos  and  humor  with  an  under- 
lying earnestness  that  betrays  a  clear  moral  vision.  The  whole 
volume  is  of  a  rare  and  wholesome  quality." — Chicago  Tribune. 

ROSALBA 

The  Story  of  Her  Development.      By  Olive  Pratt 

Rayner  (Grant  Allen),  author  of  "  Flowers  and 
Their  Pedigrees,"  etc.  Hudson  Library,  No.  39. 
12°,  396  pages,  paper,  50  cts. ;  cloth,  $1.00. 

"  A  story  which  holds  the  reader  with  profound  interest  to  the 
closing  lines." — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

ABOARD  "  THE  AMERICAN  DUCHESS  " 

By  Headon  Hill.  Hudson  Library,  No.  41.  ia% 
paper,  50  cts. ;  cloth,  $1.00. 

Note. — Thisis  a  reprint  of  a  work  previously  published  under  the  title  of 
"  Queen  of  the  Night " — with  certain  changes  of  names. 

"  He  has  certainly  given  to  the  reading  public  a  capital  story  full 
of  action.  It  is  a  bright  novel  and  contains  many  admirable  chap- 
ters. Life  on  the  ocean  is  well  depicted,  many  exciting  episodes 
are  well  told,  and  it  will  interest  readers  of  all  classes." — KnoxvilU 
Sentinel. 

THE  PRIEST'S  MARRIAGE 

By  Nora  Vynne,  author  of  "  The  Blind  Artist's  Picture," 
etc.  Hudson  Library,  No.  42.  12°,  paper,  50  cts.  ; 
cloth,  $1.00. 

"The  subject  is  worked  out  in  a  most  interesting  manner  with 
admirable  taste  and  more  admirable  art.  The  character  drawing  is 
unusually  good." — Saturday  Evening  Gazttle,  Boston. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London 


St(  gU^aliettt  gnlgTtt  'gompMns 


THE  THINGS  THAT  COUNT 

Hudson    Library,    No.   43.      12°,  paper,  50  cts.;  cloth, 

$1.00. 

In  her  well-known  graphic  style,  Miss  Tompkins  has  made  a  strong 
and  vivid  study  of  a  character  hitherto  not  delineated  in  American 
fiction.  Her  heroine  is  an  indolent  young  woman  of  small  means, 
who  lives  by  visiting  the  houses  of  wealthy  friends.  The  story  of  her 
regeneration  through  her  affection  for  a  man  of  strong  character  is 
cleverly  told. 

TALKS  WITH  BARBARA 

Being  an  Informal  and  Experimental  Discussion,  from 
the  Point  of  View  of  a  Young  Woman  of  To-morrow, 
of  Certain  of  the  Complexities  of  Life,  Particularly 
in  Regard  to  the  Relations  of  Men  and  Women. 
12°,  $1.50. 

"  These  speculations  about  many  things  of  present  interest  are 
well  worth  reading,  for  they  are  bright,  original,  felicitously  set 
forth,  and,  above  all,  suggestive." — JV.    F.  Mai/  a^d  Express. 

HER  MAJESTY 

A  Romance  of  To-Day.  Hudson  Library,  No.  6.  12°, 
paper,  50  cts.;  cloth,  $1.00. 

"  Nothing  was  ever  more  realistic  than  this  entirely  ideal  story, 

and  the  romance  is  as  artistic  as  the  realism The  story 

is  bright  and  full  of  life,  and  there  is  an  alertness  in  the  style  as 
charming  as  its  sympathy." —  T/ie  Evangelist. 

THE  BROKEN   RING 

Hudson  Library,   No.   15.      12°,  paper,  50   cts.;    cloth, 

$1.00. 

"  A  romance  of  war  and  love  in  royal  life,  pleasantly  written  and 
cleverly  composed  for  melodramatic  effect  in  the  end." — Independent. 

AN  UNLESSONED  GIRL 

A  Story  of  School  Life.     With  frontispiece.     12°,  $1.25. 

"This  story  of  the  development  of  a  bright  but  self-conscious, 
affected  and  ambitious  girl,  under  the  discipline  of  school  life,  is  far 
above  the  average  of  literary  merit.  Tlie  analysis  of  character  and 
motives  is  acute,  the  personages  seem  real,  and  the  talk  has  the  light 
and  easy  touch  which  makes  it  natural." — Christian  Intelligencer. 


Q.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London 


WORKS  BY 
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"*  An  Artist  in  Crime'  is  the  best  detective  story  which  has  been 
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*'  This  particular  book  is  the  best  of  its  kind  and  just  what  its  title 
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